O 


UNIVERSITY  BULLETIN 

New  Series,  Vol.  X  No.  21 

THE    VALUE    OF    HUMANISTIC,   PARTICULARLY 

CLASSICAL,  STUDIES  AS  A  TRAINING  FOR 

MEN    OF   AFFAIRS 


A  SYMPOSIUM 

From  the  Proceedings  of  the  Classical  Conference  held  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 

April  3,  1909 


Reprint  from  the  School  Review,  June,  September,  1 909 


THE   VALUE    OF    HUMANISTIC,    PARTICULARLY 

CLASSICAL,  STUDIES  AS  A  TRAINING  FOR 

MEN  OF  AFFAIRS 


A  SYMPOSIUM 

From  the  Proceedings  of  the  Classical  Conference  held  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michigan 

April  3,  1909 


or 
I   UNIVERSITY    I 

Of 

&UFQRH3J 


Reprint  from  the  School  Review,  June,  September,  1909 


LC.  10 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


I.     LETTERS 3 

JAMES  BRYCE  ;  JAMES  LOEB  ;  WILLIAM  SLOANE 

II.     THE  STUDY  OF  THE  CLASSICS  AS  A  TRAINING  FOR 

MEN  OF  AFFAIRS 9 

JOHN  W.  FOSTER 

III.  THE  STUDY  OF  LATIN  AND  GREEK  AS  A  TRAINING 
FOR  PRACTICAL  LIFE 14 

CHARLES  R.  WILLIAMS 

IV.  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  GREEK  AND  LATIN 

.     AS  A  PREPARATION  FOR  THE  STUDY  OF  SCIENCE      .     24 

HARVEY  W.  WILEY 

V.     THE  CLASSICS  AND  MODERN  LIFE 37 

JAMES  BROWN  SCOTT 


•  201837. 


A  SYMPOSIUM 

ON   THE  VALUE  OF   HUMANISTIC,   PARTICULARLY   CLASSICAL, 
STUDIES  AS  A  TRAINING  FOR  MEN   OF  AFFAIRS1 


I.    LETTERS 


i.     FROM    THE   HON.    JAMES    BRYCE 
Ambassador   of   Great   Britain 


It  is  matter  of  great  regret  to  me  that  I  cannot  attend  your  Conference, 
for  the  longer  I  watch  the  currents  that  are  now  affecting  the  higher 
education,  the  more  I  lament  the  diminished  attention  that  is  today  given  to 
classical  studies.  Most  people  seem  to  think  that  a  language  no  longer 
used  by  a  nation  as  its  daily  speech  is  a  dead  language  and  has  no  value 
for  the  modern  world.  But  the  truth  is  that  no  language  which  enshrines 
a  great  literature  and  through  which  the  thought  of  the  past  speaks  to  the 
thinkers  of  the  present  can  ever  die.  Such  a  language  is  far  more  alive 
than  those  spoken  languages  which  contain  little  worth  reading.  Now  in 
the  Greek  and  Roman  writers  we  find  much  that  is  not  only  equal  in 
intrinsic  excellence  to  anything  produced  since,  but  much  that  is  quickening 
and  stimulating  us  just  because  it  is  ancient,  because  it  carries  us  into 
regions  of  thought  and  belief  which  differ  profoundly  from  those  of  modern 

1  Part  of  the  Programme  of  the  Classical  Conference  at  Ann  Arbor,  Michi- 
gan, April  3,  1909. 

Through  the  kind  assistance  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  and  the  courtesy  of  the  publishers  of  the  School  Review,  it  has  been 
possible  to  secure  some  reprints  of  this  symposium  for  distribution.  Those 
desiring  a  copy  may  address  (inclosing  a  two-cent  stamp  for  postage)  MR.  Louis 
P.  JOCELYN,  Secretary  Michigan  Schoolmasters'  Club,  South  Division  St.,  Ann 
Arbor,  Mich.  The  previous  symposiums  of  this  series  were  as  follows : 

I.  "The  Value  of  Humanistic,   Particularly  Classical,   Studies   as  a  Prepara- 
tion   for   the   Study   of   Medicine   and   Engineering."      Published    in   the   School 
Review,  Vol.   XIV    (1906),   pp.    389-414;   translated   into   German  by   Professor 
Von  Arnim,  of  the  University  of  Vienna,   and   published,  with   an   introduction 
by  Dr.  S.  Frankfurter,  under  the  title  "Der  Wert  des  Humanismus,  insbesondere 
der  klassischen  Studien  als  Vorbereitung  fur  das  Studium  der  Medizin  und  der 
Ingenieurkunde  vom  Standpunkt  der  Berufe"   (4.  Heft,  Mitteilungen  des  Vereins 
der  Freunde  des  humanistischen   Gymnasiums,  Vienna  and  Leipzig,    1907). 

II.  "The   Value   of  Humanistic   Studies   as  a   Preparation   for  the   Study   of 
Law."     School  Review,  Vol.  XV  (1907),  pp.  409-35. 

III.  "The  Value  of  Humanistic,   Particularly   Classical,   Studies  as  a   Prepa- 


4  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

times.  I  do  not  say  that  the  classics  will  make  a  dull  man  bright,  nor  that 
a  man  ignorant  of  them  may  not  display  the  highest  literary  or  the 
highest  practical  gifts,  as  indeed  many  have  done.  Natural  genius  can  over- 
leap all  deficiencies  of  training.  But  a  mastery  of  the  literature  and  history 
of  the  ancient  world  makes  every  one  fitter  to  excel  than  he  would  have 
been  without  it,  for  it  widens  the  horizon,  it  sets  standards  unlike  our  own, 
it  sharpens  the  edge  of  critical  discrimination,  it  suggests  new  lines  of  con- 
structive thought.  It  is  no  doubt  more  directly  helpful  to  the  lawyer  or  the 
clergyman  or  the  statesman  than  it  is  to  the  engineer  or  the  banker.  But 
it  is  useful  to  all,  for  the  man  of  affairs  gains,  like  all  others,  from  what- 
ever enables  him  better  to  comprehend  the  world  of  men  around  him  and 
to  discern  the  changes  that  are  passing  on  in  it. 

Without  disparaging  the  grammatical  and  philological  study  of  Greek 
and  Latin,  the  highest  value  a  knowledge  of  these  languages  contains 
seems  to  me  to  lie  less  in  familiarity  with  their  forms  than  in  a  grasp  of 
ancient  life  and  ancient  thought,  in  an  appreciation  of  the  splendor  of  the 
poetry  they  contain,  in  a  sense  of  what  human  nature  was  in  days  remote 
from  our  own.  It  is  for  all  of  us  necessary  to  live  for  the  present  and  the 
immediate  future.  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  live  so  entirely  in  the  present  as 
we  are  apt  to  do  in  these  days,  for  the  power  of  broad  thinking  suffers.  It 
is  not  only  the  historian  who  ought  to  know  the  past,  nor  only  the  philoso- 
pher and  the  statesman  who  ought  to  ponder  the  future  and  endeavor  to 
divine  it  by  filling  his  mind  with  the  best  thought  which  the  men  of  old 
have  left  to  us. 


2.     FROM  JAMES  LOEB 
Formerly  of  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  New  York 


That  a  classical  course  is  a  valuable  training  for  business  life  has 
always  seemed  to  me  a  self-evident  proposition.  This  question  has  been 
discussed  often  and  at  great  length -by  thbse  who  are  much  more  worthy 
of  a  hearing  than  I  am.  If  I  depart  from  the  habit  of  years,  and  venture 
to  send  a  message  to  your  learned  assembly,  it  is  primarily  owing  to 
repeated  urging.  I  find  my  only  warrant  for  so  doing  in  the  thought  that 
my  personal  experience  at  Harvard  University,  in  business,  and  now,  last 
but  best,  in  the  pursuit  of  res  dulciores  et  humaniores,  gives  me  a  certain 
perspective  that  may  not  be  without  some  inferest  to  the  Conference. 

It  would  be  a  waste  of  your  time  and  of  my  energy,  were  I  to  try  to 
plead  the  cause  of  the  Classics.  America  does  not  stand  alone  in  its 

ration  for  the  Study  of  Theology,  from  the  Point  of  View  of  the  Profession." 
School  Review,  Vol.  XVI   (1908),  pp.  3/0-90,  533~37,  and  561-79. 

A  few  reprints  of  Nos.  II  and  III  are  still  to  be  had;  requests  (inclosing 
two-cent  stamps)  should  be  addressed  to  Secretary  Jocelyn.  The  reprints  of 
No.  I  are  exhausted. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  5 

decreasing  attention  to  Greek  and  Latin.  Schoolmasters  and  university 
professors  in  England,  France,  and  Germany  make  the  same  complaint. 
We  must  not  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  prevalent  methods  of 
teaching  classical  literature  are  largely  to  blame  for  this  decrease.  The 
dry,  pedantic  insistence  on  grammatical  and  syntactical  detail,  so  usual  in 
High  School  and  University,  has  driven  many  a  student  out  of  the  fold.  It 
is  asking  too  much  of  even  a  well-disciplined  lad  to  read  the  Prometheus  or 
the  Antigone  in  this  spirit.  His  eyes  must  be  opened  to  the  human  values  and 
to  the  aesthetic  charm  of  -ancient  literature ;  and  for  this  the  teacher  is  often 
too  incapable  or  too  unwilling.  I  am  confident  that  the  younger  generation 
of  teachers,  who  are  now  coming  into  their  own,  and  who  have  "tasted  the 
dragon's  blood"  in  Greece  or  in  Italy,  will  inject  new  life  into  their  subject, 
or  rather,  that  they  will  understand  how  to  show  forth  to  their  hearers  that 
eternal  life  and  beauty  of  the  Classics  which  is  so  often  buried  under 
mountains  of  dry  philology. 

In  an  age  like  ours,  where  ambitious  youth  no  longer  treads  the 
cloistered  walk,  where  "Make  Money,"  "Win  Success,"  "Out-do  Croesus" 
are  written  in  large  letters  on  the  blackboard  of  School,  College,  and  Uni- 
versity, usurping  the  place  of  the  yv&Oi  aavrov,  how  can  we  expect  people 
to  find  value  in  Homer  or  Euripides,  in  Caesar  or  Catullus? 

$uccess,  written  with  the  dollar  sign,  instead  of  with  the  commoner, 
but  more  harmless  sibilant,  is  the  shibboleth  of  our  day.  In  his  last  year's 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration  President  Woodrow  Wilson,  of  Princeton,  said: 

Is  it  not  time  we  stopped  asking  indulgence  for  learning  and  proclaimed 
its  sovereignty?  Is  it  not  time  that  we  reminded  the  College  men  of  this 
country  that  they  have  no  right  to  any  distinctive  place  in  any  community 
unless  they  can  show  it  by  intellectual  achievement?  that  if  a  University  is  a 
place  for  distinction  at  all,  it  must  be  distinguished  by  conquest  of  mind? 

Splendid !  But  what  does  the  average  undergraduate  think  of  such  words 
as  these?  "Stuff  and  nonsense;  very  pretty  in  theory,  but  how  do  they 
apply  to  my  case— to  me,  who  want  to  make  a  Success  of  my  life?" 

We  have  made  the  path  of  education  too  smooth;  our  young  men  and 
women  rush  over  it  on  the  soft  cushions  of  hurrying  automobiles.  They 
are  no  longer  forced  to  face  that  healthy  struggle  for  knowledge  that 
wearies  the  body,  but  refreshes  the  mind.  Why,  there  are  Colleges  and 
Universities  in  our  land  where  "original  research"  is  recommended  to  young 
people  as  a  profitable  pastime  before  they  know  what  a  bibliography  looks 
like!  Most  things  can  be  popularized;  original  research  cannot. 

Some  time  ago  I  had  the  pleasure  of  a  visit  from  a  quite  recent  graduate 
of  one  of  the  largest  New  England  Universities,  who  is  now  taking  a 
classical  course  at  Oxford.  This  young  man,  who  had  distinguished  him- 
self on  the  football  field  as  well  as  in  the  classroom,  was  thought  worthy 
of  an  appointment  to  a  Rhodes  Scholarship.  He  means  to  study  Theology 


0  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

and  ultimately  to  return  home  as  a  teacher.  Just  now  Classics  are  his  chief 
pursuit.  Our  talk  happened  to  drift  to  an  incident  in  Modern  History. 
"Oh,"  said  my  young  friend,  "I  know  nothing  at  all  of  Modern  History." 
With  the  same  engaging  candor  and  honesty  he  protested  his  complete 
ignorance  of  Mediaeval  History.  To  my  timid  suggestion  that  life  at 
Oxford  and  the  long  vacations  would  give  him  ample  time  to  make  up 
this  regrettable  lacuna  in  his  education  he  archly  replied,  "Oh,  I  do  not  need 
to  know  anything  about  history,  because  I  shall  never  have  to  teach  it." — 
Q.D.V. ! 

The  degree  of  A.B.  has  been  so  far  cheapened  that  the  graduate  of 
twenty-five  years  ago  reluctantly  admits  the  graduate  of  today  into  his 
intellectual  companionship.  The  Elective  System  has  overshot  its  mark  and 
a  decided  reaction  must  soon  set  in,  if  we  mean  to  uphold  the  respectability 
of  a  University  degree.  It  may  be  good  Business  to  encourage  young  men 
to  take  their  A.B.  in  three  years,  but  it  is  bad  Paedagogics. 

The  constant  and  growing  abuse  of  a  free  choice  of  subjects  is  slowly 
but  surely  removing  the  props  of  solid  intellectual  achievement.  "The 
distinction  that  can  be  gained  only  by  conquest  of  mind" — to  cite  President 
Wilson's  well-chosen  words  once  more — is  predicated  on  a  much  more 
thorough  general  education  than  the  American  undergraduate  brings  to 
College.  Too  much  and,  above  all,  too  early  "specialization"  is  a  great 
obstacle  to  his  acquiring  that  broader  and  fairer  culture  of  two  or  three 
generations  ago. 

\iConversation  among  men,  and  between  men  and  women,  is  steadily 
losing  those  finer  qualities  which  make  an  exchange  of  ideas  profitable 
and  uplifting.  With  the  absence  of  respect  for  authority,  which  charac- 
terizes the  youths  of  today,  we  are  fast  losing  that  respect  for  the  dig- 
nity of  our  own  work  which  alone  can  give  that  work  real  and  lasting  value. 
The  foolish  attempt  to  keep  abreast  of  the  so-called  literature  of  the  day, 
of  those  morbid,  pseudo-psychological  novels,  the  prying  and  indelicate 
memoirs — to  say  nothing  of  the  even  more  pernicious  products  of  untutored 
writers — would  be  impossible,  were  the  taste  of  our  growing  youths  and 
maidens  formed  by  a  proper  study  of  Greek  and  Latin  literature,  the  Bible, 
and  the  Classics  of  our  own  and  other  languages.  The  applause  bestowed 
on  the  decadent  drama,  the  vulgar  comedy,  the  immoral  and  dirty  play 
would  turn  into  hisses,  were  the  audience  better  acquainted  with  the  works 
of  Aeschylus  and  Sophocles.  Those  old  tragedies  served  a  great  moral 
purpose  by  focusing  motives  and-  lime-lighting  consequences.  I  venture 
to  say  that  the  low  ebb  of  our  public  and  business  ethics  is  due,  among 
other  things,  to  the  absence  of  that  fear  of  consequences  which  the  better 
acquaintance  with  the  dreaded  Molpa  of  the  ancients  would  necessarily  beget 
in  our  consciousness.  And  much  of  what  I  have  said  applies  to  conditions 
in  Europe  as  well  as  at  home — in  lesser  degree,  however,  because  Europe's 


> 
CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AF. 

mighty  cultural  inheritance  still  serves  as  a  bulwark  against  the  encroach- 
ment of  these  evils. 

A  thorough  groundwork  in  the  fundamentals  of  real  culture,  followed 
by  a  rigid  training  in  the  severer  discipline  of  honest  original  research,  of 
some  sort,  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  every  successful  life.  Whether  that 
life  be  devoted  to  Science  or  Letters,  to  Theology  or  Business,  matters  not. 
That  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Greek  and  Roman  literature  is  among 
those  fundamentals  of  real  culture  need  hardly  be  urged  here. 

Business  cannot  be  taught  theoretically.  The  real  school  for  Business  is 
Business  itself — the  railway  shop,  the  store,  the  factory,  or  the  bank. 
"Business  Colleges,"  good,  bad,  or  indifferent,  abound  in  our  country,  and 
recently  Harvard  and  other  Universities  have  thought  fit  to  establish 
"Schools  of  Business  Administration"  and  what-not  else  of  the  same  char- 
acter. A  regrettable  misconception — I  am  bold  enough  to  say  it — of  the 
true  functions  of  a  University.  We  need  ideals  in  our  country.  Shall  we 
print  the  dollar  sign  on  our  Bachelor's  degrees  and  flatter  their  holders 
into  the  vain  belief  that  they  are  better  equipped  for  money-earning  because 
they  have  spent  less  time  in  learning  lessons  that  mean  vastly  more  for 
the  inner  life? 

I  have  still  to  hear  of  the  young  man,  whose  theoretical  knowledge 
of  bookkeeping  and  finance  and  international  exchange  secured  him  better 
pay,  or  a  position  of  greater  trust,  than  that  given  the  lad  from  the  Public 
School.  A  level-headed  College  graduate  is  better  worth  his  pay  than  a 
fellow  who  comes  from  a  Business  College  with  his  head  full  of  dummy 
exchange  operations  and  make-believe  entries  on  a  ledger. 

An  old  friend  of  mine,  who  fought  in  the  Civil  War,  and  who  still 
clings  fondly  to  the  high-protection  fallacy,  once  said  to  me,  when  I  had 
just  entered  business  in  1888,  "My  dear  boy,  you  know  more  in  theory 
today  than  you  are  likely  ever  to  know  in  practice."  My  young  graduate 
pride  rebelled  at  this,  but  13  years'  experience  in  very  active  affairs  taught 
me  that  the  time  spent  at  Harvard  studying  History  of  Finance,  Political 
Economy,  and  International  Law  might  as  well  have  been  devoted  to  the 
Classics  for  all  the  practical  value  I  got  out  of  those  worldlier  pursuits. 

The  great  and  legitimate  aim  of  a  business  man  is  to  make  money,  to 
provide  for  himself  and  his  family  such  luxuries  and  comforts  as  his  tastes 
and  social  standing  demand.  But  when  a  man^has  reached  the  goal  of  his 
desires,  when  he  has  made  his  pile  and  wants  tcKenjoy  it,  then  comes  the 
time  for  the  making  of  the  real  and  only  Balance  Sheet.  Then  he  must 
ask  himself,  "What  are  my  resources,  now  that  I  hVve  everything  that 
money  can  buy?  What  are  my  spiritual  and  intellectual\issets?  How  can 
I  best  spend  what  is  left  to  me  of  life?"  Lucky  is  the  man  whose  early 
training  fits  him  for  something  more  than  the  golf-field,  or  the  tennis-court, 
and  for  something  better  than  the  gaming-table  when  his  days  of  business 


8       x  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

activity  are  over.  He  can  taste  the  gentler  pleasures  that  await  him  in  his 
study  and  by  the  blazing  hearth-fire.  His  Sophocles  or  his  Homer  or  his 
Catullus  will  make  the  winter  of  life  seem  like  its  early  spring  when  the 
greatest  struggle  he  knew  was  with  the  elusive  rules  of  grammar  and 
syntax.  This  busy  world  of  ours  cannot  stop:  it  will  always  whirl  and 
rush  and  hustle.  But  some  of  us— and  the  more  the  better— must  learn 
that  on  one  side  of  the  rushing  stream  of  life  lie  the  peaceful  backwaters, 
in  which  the  clouds  and  the  sun,  the  shrubs  and  the  birds  of  the  air  appear 
reflected  in  their  true,  undistorted  image,  gently  floating  on  the  limpid 
pool  of  reverie. 


3.     FROM  WILLIAM  SLOANE 
President  of  W.  and  J.  Sloane,  New  York 


An  education  is  a  large  asset  for  any  man,  whatever  his  calling.  His 
equipment  for  a  life-work  is  that  much  better,  and  I,  for  one,  think  that  an 
education,  and  preferably  a  classical  education,  is  a  distinct  advantage  to  a 
business  man,  and  will  prove  to  be  so  in  increasing  measure  as  he  rises 
to  positions  of  responsibility  and  influence  in  his  business  or  elsewhere.  A 
wider  horizon  means  greater  ability  to  see  through  complex  situations,  to 
understand  motives,  to  measure  men;  to  say  nothing  of  the  more  intelligent 
interest  in  those  outside  matters  which  increase  general  culture  in  the 
community,  in  the  state,  and  in  the  nation. 

An  American  man  of  affairs  is  hardly  in  the  same  category  with  the 
old-world  shopkeeper.  He  must  be  well  prepared  to  serve  his  day  and 
generation  in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  He  may  be  called  from  the  counter 
to  the  cabinet.  The  only  limitations  to  success  in  America  are  those  of 
capacity.  But  the  great  trouble  with  us  is  that  we  are  forever  looking 
for  the  short  cut.  This  characteristic  has  caused  a  lack  of  thoroughness 
in  our  educational  system  which  is  unfortunate.  If  a  man  can  skim  over 
history  and  economics,  and  a  modern  language  or  two,  and  secure  a  college 
degree,  he  is  ill  prepared  to  perform  the  drudgery  of  an  apprenticeship  in 
business,  which  after  all  constitutes  the  only  basis  on  which  to  build.  I 
believe  that  the  slow  processes  of  translation  of  the  Classics  (which  in  my 
opinion  should  be  compulsory  in  the  academic  course  for  a  B.A.  degree) 
make  good  training  for  the  boy  who  has  chosen  a  business  career.  This  is 
entirely  aside  from  the  advantage,  which  he  will  never  enjoy  again,  of 
communing  with  the  gods.  The  business  man's  day  is  prosaic,  the  men 
he  meets  are  as  a  rule  men  of  little  or  no  schooling.  The  business  prin- 
ciples he  finds  are  not  always  in  accord  with  his  preconceived  ideas  of 
honesty;  there  isn't  much  art  or  poetry  in  it  all;  and  unless  he  has  some- 
thing to  fall  back  upon,  some  background  to  his  life  and  thought,  some 
such  continual  source  of  quiet  comfort  and  pleasure  as  a  classical  education 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  9 

will  afford  him,  life  will  be  a  very  empty  thing;  while  business  cares  and 
business  successes  will  become  such  paramount  issues  with  him  that  the 
man  will  be  lost  in  his  pursuits. 

Again,  a  business  man  who  has  had  a  classical  education  cannot  fail 
to  remember  with  reverence  and  affection  those  patient,  consecrated  men 
who  taught  him  Latin  and  Greek,  and  awoke  in  him  a  love  for  the  beautiful. 
Such  men  as  these,  with  ideals,  he  perhaps  no  longer  meets  in  his  daily 
vocation.  With  the  passing  years  he  may  have  forgotten  the  very  names 
of  the  Classics  he  read  at  college,  but  the  memory  of  those  days,  of  those 
men,  of  their  enthusiasm  in  their  work,  has  had  its  effect  on  the  man  him- 
self and  he  is  better  for  it,  and  I  believe  a  better  business  man  too,  for 
unconsciously  he  has  acquired  something  which  he  values  as  a  precious 
possession,  a  something  which  distinguishes  him  from  his  fellows  and 
makes  him  singularly  happy  in  his  work. 


II.    THE   STUDY   OF   THE   CLASSICS   AS   A   TRAINING  FOR 
MEN  OF  AFFAIRS1 


THE  HON.  JOHN  W.  FOSTER 
Washington,  D.  C 


My  experience  in  the  practice  of  law  and  my  observation  of 
public  affairs  have  led  me  to  look  with  regret  upon  the  diminish- 
ing interest  in  our  higher  institutions  of  learning  in  the  study 
of  the  ancient  classics.  The  modern  university  spirit  seems  to 
tend  to  the  elective  system  and  to  study  in  the  scientific  and  more 
practical  departments  of  knowledge.  I  doubt  very  much  whether 
it  is  wisest  to  leave  entirely  to  the  immature  youth  the  selection 
of  his  course  of  study.  So  also  it  may  be  better  to  train  and 
develop  the  mind  in  the  earlier  years  than  to  store  it  with  knowl- 
edge, which  may  well  come  later.  If  the  university  is  to  main- 
tain its  proper  place  as  the  seat  of  higher  learning,  Greek  and 
Latin  should  not  be  relegated  to  an  unimportant  position  in  the 
curriculum,  nor  their  study  discouraged. 

History  tells  us  of  the  unequaled  refinement  of  the  Greek 
race  in  the  days  of  Pericles.  Only  a  few  doubtful  and  imperfect 
specimens  of  the  chisel  of  Phidias  and  his  school  remain,  and 
the  skill  of  Apelles'  brush  is  entirely  lost  to  us;  but  the  highest 
evidence  of  the  art,  refinement,  and  thought  of  that  golden  age 

1  Read  by  President  James  B.  AngelL 


10  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

has  come  down  to  us  unimpaired  in  the  Greek  language,  the  most 
perfect  achievement  of  the  human  race.  No  better  training  for 
the  youthful  mind  can  be  devised  than  the  study  of  this  language 
and  the  mastery  of  the  high  and  polished  thoughts  which  it  has 
preserved.  It  matters  not  if  in  the  resistless  hurry  of  our  prac- 
tical age  the  Greek  which  we  acquired  in  our  youth  passes  from 
our  memory;  its  influence  on  the  mind  will  never  be  obliterated. 
Lord  Brougham,  one  of  the  first  of  English  statesmen  and 
scholars  of  the  last  century,  in  his  inaugural  address  as  rector 
of  Glasgow  University,  said : 

Be  ye  assured  that  the  works  of  the  English  chisel  fall  not  more  short 
of  the  .wonders  of  the  Acropolis,  than  the  best  productions  of  modern  pens 
fall  short  of  the  chaste,  finished,  nervous,  and  overwhelming  compositions 
of  the  Greeks.  Be  equally  sure  that,  with  hardly  an  exception,  the  great 
things  of  poetry  and  of  eloquence  have  been  done  by  men  who  have  culti- 
vated the  mighty  exemplars  of  Athenian  genius  with  daily  and  with  nightly 
devotion. 

Also  that  other  distinguished  English  statesman  and  scholar, 
than  whom  no  one  of  his  generation  was  greater  master  of  his 
own  language,  Gladstone,  wrote: 

The  modern  European  civilization  from  the  Middle  Ages  downward  is 
the  compound  of  two  factors — the  Christian  religion  for  the  soul  of  man 
and  the  Greek  discipline  for  his  mind  and  intellect. 

I  have  been  asked  to  discuss  "The  Value  of  the  Study  of  the 
Ancient  Classics  as  a  Training  for  Men  of  Affairs."  The  quo- 
tations which  I  have  just  made  from  two  of  the  most  prominent 
men  of  affairs  of  the  British  Empire  show  the  high  estimate 
which  they  placed  upon  the  study  of  these  classics.  Every  man 
at  the  bar  or  in  public  life  who  was  made  familiar  with  the  Greek 
and  Latin  languages  in  his  early  education  knows  how  valuable 
that  study  has  been  to  him  in  his  professional  career — not  on 
account  of  the  technical  knowledge  acquired,  for  that  will  pass 
from  his  memory  unless  preserved  by  constant  reference  to  it — 
but  because  of  the  discipline  which  the  study  gave  to  his  youthful 
mind  in  its  formative  state.  The  mere  routine  labor  of  the 
translation  of  Greek  and  Latin  authors  into  one's  vernacular,  the 
effort  to  ascertain  their  exact  meaning  and  the  choice  of  the 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  II 

words  which  correctly  express  that  meaning,  constitute  a  mental 
training  which  will  be  invaluable  to  the  future  lawyer  or  public 
man.  True,  there  is  some  such  training  in  the  acquisition  of  the 
modern  languages,  but  not  to  be  compared  with  the  study  of 
the  Greek,  the  most  highly  refined  and  perfect  of  all  the  languages 
for  the  expression  of  human  thought. 

I  recall  my  own  experience.  As  a  law  student  and  for  some 
time  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  it  was  my  practice  to  carry 
about  with  me  the  Latin  text  of  the  law  maxims  extracted  from 
Broom's  compilation,  in  order  to  memorize  them  and  master  the 
principles  therein  so  concisely  and  clearly  stated.  My  main 
object  in  this  exercise  was  familiarly  to  acquaint  myself  with  the 
elementary  doctrines  of  law  and  government,  for  practical  appli- 
cation in  my  profession.  But  the  exercise  was  of  inestimable 
value  to  me  in  forming  my  method  of  thought  and  expression. 
Whatever  of  conciseness  and  clearness  of  style  I  may  possess 
is  to  be  largely  attributed  to  such  study. 

Another  great  value  to  be  derived  from  a  study  of  these  Latin 
maxims  is  that  they  contain  the  concentrated  wisdom  of  the 
philosophers,  scholars,  and  publicists  of  Greece  and  Rome.  We 
of  the  English  race,  in  our  exaltation  of  the  common  law,  are 
apt  to  forget  that  the  foundation  of  almost  all  modern  juris- 
prudence was  laid  by  the  jurisconsults  of  the  Roman  Empire  in 
the  compilation  of  the  civil  law,  who  availed  themselves  of  the 
vast  storehouse  of  wisdom  gathered  from  more  ancient  sources. 

Even  the  advocates  of  the  elective  curriculum  which  required 
no  Greek  and  Latin  admit  that  the  study  of  those  languages  in 
the  writings  of  their  philosophers,  poets,  and  scholars  tends  to 
produce  the  most  cultured  minds  and  the  highest  style  of  compo- 
sition and  expression.  Amidst  the  great  wealth  of  material  in 
the  ancient  classics  which  has  come  down  to  us,  none  is  more 
useful  to  the  lawyer  and  the  public  man  than  the  works  of 
Demosthenes  and  Cicero.  We  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  them 
only  as  orators  and  authors  of  treatises,  but  they  were  lawyers 
by  profession,  and  of  all  the  ancients  the  most  successful  in  their 
profession  of  those  whose  lives  we  know  or  whose  works  have 
been  preserved.  And  they  also,  like  their  brethren  of  the  present 


12  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

day,  were  led  through  their  profession  into  public  affairs.  For 
a  considerable  portion  of  their  public  life  both  Demosthenes  and 
Cicero  swayed  the  destinies  of  Athens  and  of  Rome. 

Demosthenes  lived  about  one  hundred  years  after  Pericles, 
but  he  had  in  his  education  the  full  benefit  of  the  refinement  and 
literature  of  that  age  and  of  the  later  days  of  Socrates  and  Plato. 
Cicero  was  educated  by  the  most  eminent  teachers  and  philoso- 
phers of  his  day,  and  he  perfected  his  education  in  Athens  and 
Asia  Minor.  Many  of  the  forensic  efforts  of  these  two  men 
have  been  saved  from  the  wreck  of  time,  and  are  available  for 
the  study  of  lawyers  and  statesmen.  They  are  conceded  to  be 
among  the  choicest  productions  of  the  human  mind  in  force  of 
expression,  beauty  of  style,  pure  philosophy,  juridical  wisdom, 
and  statecraft.  It  is  well  worth  while  for  our  public  men  to 
master  the  Greek  and  Latin  in  order  to  study  the  productions  of 
these  great  lawyers,  orators,  and  statesmen  in  their  native 
tongues,  unimpaired  in  their  force  and  elegance  by  translation. 

I  have  referred  to  the  training  derived  from  the  translation 
of  the  dead  languages,  in  the  accuracy  of  expression  which  it 
requires,  and  the  habit  of  searching  for  the  true  and  exact 
meaning  of  the  author.  This  training  is  of  prime  importance 
to  all  those  who  have  to  do  with  the  framing  or  the  interpretation 
of  contracts,  charters,  statutes,  or  treaties.  It  has  been  deeply 
impressed  upon  me  in  my  connection  with  public  affairs.  A  con- 
siderable portion  of  my  official  life  has  been  devoted  to  efforts 
to  reach  an  understanding  of  treaty  stipulations,  which  on  account 
of  their  vague  and  inexact  language  have  given  rise  to  conflicting 
interpretations  which  threatened  open  hostilities  between  other- 
wise friendly  powers.  The  most  fruitful  source  of  conflicting 
interpretation  has  been  the  attempt  in  our  treaties  with  Great 
Britain  to  fix  our  boundaries  with  Canada  and  to  define  our 
respective  rights. 

In  the  treaty  of  peace  and  independence  of  1783  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  in  order  "that  all  disputes  which  might  arise  in  the 
future  on  the  subject  of  the  boundaries  of  the  said  United  States 
may  be  prevented,  it  is  hereby  agreed  and  declared,  that  he 
following  are  and  shall  be  their  boundaries,  viz "  But  the 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  13 

first  attempt  to  put  this  stipulation  of  the  treaty  into  force 
developed  the  fact  that  the  language  used  was  so  vague  and  un- 
certain that,  owing  to  the  opposing  interpretations,  it  was  im- 
possible to  put  it  into  effect;  and  after  much  discussion,  resort 
was  had  to  arbitration  to  determine  what  was  "the  true  intent" 
of  the  treaty  as  to  the  initial  point  of  the  boundary  line.  In 
succeeding  years,  as  efforts  were  made  to  establish  other  portions 
of  the  boundary  under  this  treaty,  the  varying  interpretations 
placed  upon  its  language  caused  much  embarrassment  and  ill 
feeling. 

The  territorial  rights  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  on 
the  Pacific  coast,  the  discussion  of  which  had  caused  the  campaign 
cry  of  "Fifty-four  forty  or  fight,"  were  sought  to  be  settled  by 
the  treaty  of  1846,  but  the  uncertainty  of  the  language  employed 
for  that  purpose  caused  bitter  contention,  only  to  be  allayed  by 
submitting  the  conflicting  claims  to  the  arbitration  of  the  emperor 
of  Germany  to  determine  "which  of  these  claims  is  most  in 
accordance  with  the  true  interpretation  of  the  treaty."  Similar 
trouble  as  to  the  respective  rights  of  the  two  countries  in  Alaska 
arose  out  of  the  proper  construction  to  be  placed  upon  the  lan- 
guage used  in  the  treaties  of  1824  and  1825  between  the  United 
States,  Russia,  and  Great  Britain,  which  culminated  in  the  ex- 
pensive arbitral  litigation  at  Paris  in  1893,  and  at  London  in  1903. 

The  most  conspicuous  illustration  of  the  defective  character 
of  treaty  language  is  to  be  found  in  the  recent  agreement  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  to  refer  to  The  Hague  Tribunal 
the  meaning  of  the  words  used  in  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty 
of  1818  regulating  their  respective  fishing  rights  in  the  North- 
west Atlantic  waters.  After  nearly  a  century  of  diplomatic 
correspondence,  heated  local  controversy,  and  long  and  elaborated 
arguments  as  to  the  meaning  of  words,  it  has  been  determined 
to  organize  at  The  Hague  an  international  tribunal,  before  which 
the  meaning  of  the  words  in  dispute  will  be  debated  by  the  most 
learned  lawyers  of  the  two  nations,  and  a  final  determination 
secured. 

j   It  is  true  that  imperfect  geographic  knowledge  has  been 
responsible  in  some  measure  for  these  international  misunder- 


14  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

standings,  but  the  greater  pan  of  the  ill-feeling,  arbitral  litiga- 
tion, and  expense  in  these  cases  could  have  been  avoided,  if  the 
negotiators  of  the  treaties  had  taken  more  pains  or  had  possessed 
the  capacity  to  express  their  intent  in  more  precise  and  accurate 
language.  This  citation  of  international  controversies  with  our 
northern  neighbors  emphasizes  the  importance  of  having  our 
diplomatists  and  our  statesmen  in  the  Cabinet  and  in  the  Senate 
who  have  to  do  with  the  making  of  treaties,  well  trained  and 
expert  in  the  force  of  language  and  the  meaning  of  words.  It 
is  the  unanimous  testimony  of  educators  and  professional  men 
that  such  a  training  can  be  best  acquired  by  a  patient  and 
thorough  study  of  Greek  and  Latin. 

I  heartily  re-echo  the  sentiment  heretofore  expressed  in  these 
Conferences  that  there  may  be  in  this  respect  a  restoration  in  our 
universities  and  colleges  of  the  old  condition  of  things,  when  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  meant  classical  education. 


III.    THE  STUDY  OF  LATIN  AND  GREEK  AS  A  TRAINING  FOR 

PRACTICAL  LIFE 


CHARLES   R.   WILLIAMS 
Editor  of  the  Indianapolis  News 


The  purpose  of  education,  as  I  conceive  it,  is  to  make  youth 
conscious  of  its  vast  heritage,  and  to  train  its  powers  so  as 
most  effectually  to  appropriate  and  use  its  endowment.  It  is  well 
constantly  to  hark  back  to  foundation  principles.  What  are  we 
trying  to  do  in  all  the  process  of  education  from  the  time  we 
start  with  the  schoolboy,  "creeping  like  snail  unwillingly  to 
school,"  till  the  university  sends  him  forth,  diploma  in  hand,  to 
take  his  place  in  the  i;anks  of  active  endeavor?  We  wish  as 
thoroughly  and  as  quickly  as  possible  to  bring  him  into  harmony 
with  his  intellectual  surroundings,  to  raise  him  to  the  present 
average  of  the  intelligence  of  the  race,  nay,  in  the  university 
courses,  to  lift  him  above  the  average  so  that  he  may  hope  to  be, 
may  be  fitted  to  be,  a  leader,  not  a  follower  in  the  race;  a  man 
that  has  learned  through  the  mastery  of  his  own  powers  and 
inclinations,  through  the  discipline  of  his  own  nature,  through 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  15 

long  association  with  the  best  that  the  world  has  thought  and 
wrought,  to  have  some  adequate  conception  of  life;  who  has 
come  to  "see  life  steadily  and  see  it  whole,"  or  if  not  quite  that, 
who  has  had  formed  in  him  some  desire  and  aspiration  to  attain 
that  high  and  worthy  power. 

A  good  share  of  education,  nearly  all  that  can  be  given  to  the 
majority  of  our  youth,  is  of  an  essential,  necessary  character, 
such  as  every  citizen  ought  to  have.  Most  pupils  are,  to  say  the 
least,  not  geniuses,  not  even  talented.  All  that  can  be  done  for 
them  in  their  school  years,  it  seems  to  me,  is  to  give  them 
thorough  instruction  in  the  essential  elements  of  education  and 
to  quicken  in  them  the  desire  for  better  things — to  give  them  in 
some  degree  the  spirit  of  knowledge,  which  is  "that  you  must 
base  your  conclusions  on  adequate  grounds." 

Already  when  the  lads  reach  the  college  or  university  the 
work  of  selection  has  gone  far.  Generally  speaking,  only  those 
seek  the  higher  courses  of  instruction  who  are  above  the  aver- 
age intellectually,  at  least  in  their  desire  for  knowledge  and  train- 
ing or  in  their  aims  or  ambitions  for  their  mature  life.  But  for 
the  most  of  the  students,  even  in  the  higher  courses,  the  spirit 
of  instruction  remains  the  same;  only  with  ampler  view,  with 
wider  prospect,  with  larger  understanding.  The  minds  are  still 
immature,  the  accomplishment  slight,  the  discipline  of  powers 
partial  and  often  misdirected.  It  is  not  knowledge  of  facts  that 
is  needed  most,  so  much  as  it  is  grounding  in  principles,  right 
attitude  of  mind,  training  of  powers  in  application,  and  in  appre- 
ciation of  what  is  right  and  good,  of  what  is  worthy  and  best. 
And  along  with  this  there  needs  to  be,  if  best  results  are  to  be 
attained,  constant  inculcation,  by  precept  and  example,  by  spirit 
and  power,  of  honesty  of  thinking,  honesty  of  speech,  honesty 
of  action — the  love  of  truth,  the  scorn  of  a  lie.  To  my  notion, 
it  is  quite  as  important  to  have  instruction  so  permeated  with  the 
atmosphere  of  right  purpose,  and  the  love  of  all  things  true  and 
honest,  and  of  good  report,  that  its  constant  endeavor  and  effect 
shall  be  to 

teach  high  thought,  and  amiable  words, 
And  love  of  truth,  and  all  that  makes  a  man. 


16  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

"Three  things  Yale  helped  to  make  William  Howard  Taft," 
said  President  Hadley  at  the  recent  notable  Yale  banquet  in  New 
York :  "A  man,  a  straightforward  man,  and  a  man  of  high  intel- 
lectual ideals."  He  added :  "The  central  problem  for  our  colleges 
today,  is  to  see  that  we  give  the  same  help  and  stimulus  to  those 
who  now  come  to  us." 

We  have  been  inclined,  especially  in  the  last  few  decades,  to 
place  the  greatest  stress  upon  the  practical  life.  Time  was  in  our 
earlier  days  when  men  regarded  the  pursuit  of  righteousness  as 
of  paramount  and  dominating  interest.  Our  ideal  then,  the  ideal 
at  least  that  we  loved  to  exalt  and  to  proclaim,  was  the  life  of 
plain  living  and  high  thinking.  Is  it  too  much  to  say  that  the 
popular  ideal  today  is  rather  the  life  of  plain  thinking  and  high 
living?  Does  the  intellectual  life,  do  the  concerns  of  the  spirit 
bulk  as  large  in  our  thought,  in  our  approval,  as  aforetime?  Is 
not  it  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  the  youth  of  the  period  that 
the  great  thing  in  life  is  to  get  on,  to  lead  in  material  accomplish- 
ment, to  put  money  in  one's  purse  ? 

For  years  the  gospel  of  strenuosity  has  been  dinned  into  our 
ears  with  inescapable  iteration;  and  we  of  all  peoples,  by  reason 
of  our  temperament  and  the  tendency  of  our  thought,  have 
needed  such  preaching  least  of  all.  The  very  conditions  and 
opportunities  of  our  life,  with  a  virgin  continent  to  enter  into 
and  possess,  have  set  the  blood  coursing  through  our  veins  in  a 
very  fever  of  impetuosity,  and  made  us  avid  of  material  con- 
quest and  achievement.  With  so  great  possibilities  demanding 
development  and  offering  so  munificent  rewards  to  those  that 
should  succeed,  it  is  no  wonder  that  young  men  of  energy  and 
enterprise  and  initiative  have  been  impatient  to  enter  the  lists 
and  to  win  their  spurs  in  the  sort  of  activity  which  the  times 
seemed  most  highly  to  regard.  It  is  no  wonder,  perhaps,  that 
in  the  swift  revolution  of  thought,  the  breaking  up  of  old  habits 
of  mind,  of  old  forms  of  faith,  which  the  marvelous  develop- 
ment of  science  has  gendered,  and  the  new  mastery  of  the  powers 
of  nature  has  fostered,  it  is  no  wonder,  perhaps,  I  say,  that  the 
material  side  of  life  has  come  to  occupy  so  disproportionate  a 
share  in  the  thought  and  ambitions  of  the  age.  Its  favors  are 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  17 

so  obvious  and  so  convenient;  it  is  so  good  to  be  lapped  in  ease, 
to  be  luxuriously  housed,  to  be  clad  in  purple  and  fine  linen,  to 
have  one's  heart's  desire! 

And  so  our  very  education  has  tended,  has  it  not?  to  be 
materialized;  has  come  more  and  more,  has  it  not?  to  exalt  the 
immediately  useful  and  practical — the  utilitarian — side  of  instruc- 
tion. The  old  college  education  had  at  least  an  ideal  of  culture. 
It  began  somewhere,  it  proceeded  by  orderly  sequence  of  courses, 
through  clearly  defined  territory,  toward  a  definite  goal.  That 
goal  was  trained  and  disciplined  manhood — a  mind  stored  with 
much  knowledge  of  the  sources  of  our  culture;  a  mind  with  all 
its  powers,  at  least  somewhat,  tested;  a  mind  that  had  been 
made  conscious  of  its  capacities  and  of  its  ignorances,  that 
had  been  disciplined  in  the  ways  of  attaining  knowledge;  a 
mind  brought  into  some  reasonable  frame  toward  the  great 
and  obstinate  questionings  of  the  soul;  and  a  character  estab- 
lished on  the  eternal  foundations  of  principle  and  morality. 
That  was  the  old  ideal,  as  I  conceive  it.  Surely  that  was  a  very 
noble  ideal.  Of  course  it  was  only  measurably  attained  or  attain- 
able, but  it  moved  on  before  the  hosts  of  youth  seeking  escape 
from  the  bondage  of  immaturity  and  rusticity,  of  convention  and 
prejudice,  of  sensualized  desire  and  low  ambitions,  a  pillar  of 
cloud  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  leading  steadily  toward 
the  promised  land  of  the  enfranchised  human  spirit. 

But  in  the  multiplicity  of  courses  that  the  college  offers  today, 
in  the  clamor  of  appeal  of  its  diverse  and  divergent  departments, 
what  ideal  controls  and  co-ordinates  the 'whole?  I  trust  I  speak 
not  in  the  tone  of  the  hopeless  conservative,  of  the  mere  laudator 
temp  or  is  acti,  to  whom  the  old,  because  it  is  old,  seems  good,  and 
the  new,  because  it  is  new,  portends  degeneracy.  I  have  not  that 
temper  of  mind  at  all,  I  hope.  I  know  that  the  colleges  and  uni- 
versities are  greater  and  better  in  unnumbered  ways  than  they 
used  to  be.  But  what  is  the  ideal  of  their  courses?  This  I  do 
know,  that  it  is  possible  in  these  days  of  so  large  freedom  of 
electives  for  men  to  graduate  with  high  honors  from  some  of  our 
higher  institutions,  who  with  all  their  equipment  of  particular 
knowledge,  with  all  their  specialized  power,  are  devoid  of  culture 


1 8  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

and  possess  no  philosophy  of  life.  Doubtless  they  know  more 
about  some  things  than  the  graduates  of  the  older  day  knew,  but 
they  know  less  about  everything — the  universe,  the  majestic 
movement  of  human  culture  from  its  far-off  sources  in  the  past, 
increasing  with  the  broadening  times,  to  its  present  multitudinous 
volume. 

Not  infrequently  we  hear  it  asserted  that  it  makes  little 
difference  what  a  young  man  studies,  so  only  that  he  studies  and 
learns  to  study  in  the  right  way.  All  jgads  lead  to  Rome,  we 
are  reminded.  So  any  subject  pursued  diligently,  we  are  assured, 
will  certainly  bring  the  student  to  efficient  mastery  of  his  intel- 
lectual powers.  Well,  let  us  freely  admit  that  there  is  some- 
thing, nay  a  good  deal  in  this  theory;  and  yet  there  is  a 
difference.  A  student  may  discipline  his  mental  powers  in  the 
study  and  investigation  of  subjects  which  in  the  end  have  given 
him  little  more  than  discipline,  power  for  further  effort,  but  that 
have  left  in  his  mind,  made  part  of  his  souP-life  to  be  the  furni- 
ture of  his  thought  and  the  subject  of  his  meditation,  almost 
nothing  that  he  cares  to  remember,  almost  nothing  that  has 
become  of  the  very  texture  of  his  inner  life.  The  range  of 
knowledge  is  so  vast,  its  lines  extend  with  so  many  ramifications, 
interlacing  and  driving  wide  apart,  to  the  ends  of  the  world,  that 
no  one  can  ever  hope  to  compass  it  all ;  much  less  in  the  years  of 
his  tutelage.  Of  course  no  one  line  of  study  is  best  for  the  best 
development  of  every  mind.  There  must  and  should  be  choice 
and  variety  to  answer  the  needs  of  varieties  of  gifts.  The 
higher  institutions  have  been  wise  in  recognizing  this  require- 
ment, and  so  enlarging  and  enriching  their  curricula.  But,  after 
3tll,  have  not  they  moved  too  precipitately  in  this  direction  ?  Have 
/  not  they  given  to  youth,  fickle  and  uncertain  in  its  bent,  too  great 
/and  too  early  freedom  of  selection?  Have  not  they  allowed 
I  specializing  and  consequent  narrowing  of  intellectual  interest  to 
j  begin  too  soon  ?  Have  not  they,  in  the  flush  of  zeal  for  the  new 
I  learning,  gone  too  far  and  too  fast  in  encouraging  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  old  ways  and  the  old  paths  ?  Does  not  the  experience 
of  the  ages  of  successful  tuition  after  all  count  for  anything? 
Should  not  the  wisdom  of  the  elders  have  some  weight — far  more 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  19 

than  it  has  seemed  to  have  in  late  years — in  guiding,  counseling, 
and  directing  callow  youth  in  the  courses  that  promise  most  for 
their  best  development? 

It  does  make  a  difference,  a  very  great  and  momentous  differ- 
ence, to  my  notion,  what  a  youth  studies  in  his  formative  and 
impressionable  years.  He  is  to  gain  discipline,  he  is  to  win 
mastery  over  himself,  to  learn  to  use  his  intellectual  powers;  but 
if  he  can  attain  these  necessary  ends  and  at  the  same  time  be 
adding  vastly  to  his  spiritual  resources,  to  the  comfort  of  his 
soul,  to  the  joy  of  his  true  life  in  the  years  to  come,  when  the 
cares  and  responsibilities  and  distractions  of  professional  and 
business  activity  shall  absorb  his  time  and  energy,  should  not 
Vthose  subjects  for  study  be  preferred  which  shall  enable  him 
most  easily  to  bring  about  these  most  desirable  results  P^Let  us 
never  long  leave  out  of  our  thought  that  life  is  not  mere  getting 
and  spending,  mere  sowing  and  reaping,  mere  material  success 
of  whatever  form.  juThat  is  only  the  basis  for  something  better 
and  higher  and  more  enduring. 

And  so,  especially  for  the  young  men  that  hope  to  be  leaders 
in  the  professional  and  business  life  of  the  time,  in  finance  and 
affairs  of  state — in  practical  life,  in  a  word — those  studies  are 
to  be  preferred  which  shall  make  him  more  a 'man,  give  him  a 
wider  outlook,  a  larger  prospect  of  life,  quicken  his  power  of 
vision,  enlarge  his  range  of  sympathy  and  appreciation,  and  bring 
him  into  fullest  consciousness  of  the  sources  and  development  of 
the  culture  we  enjoy.  It  may  be  tremendously  interesting,  to  be 
sure,  to  be  able  to  determine  the  distance  of  the  sun  from  the 
earth  or  to  measure  the.  diameter  of  the  moon ;  power  of  observa- 
tion and  a  magnified  sense  of  the  miracles  of  nature's  adjustments 
all  about  us  may  doubtless  come  from  microscopic  study  of  the 
eye  of  a  wasp  or  of  the  delicate  whorls  of  a  lichen.  But,  after 
all,  what  do  such  investigations  furnish  the  mind  withal  besides 
the  added  power  except  just  the  facts  ascertained?  How  have 
they,  except  in  infinitesimal  degree,  made  a  man  more  a  man,  or 
helped  prepare  him  for  his  life  among  men?  And  never  more 
than  in  this  age  of  crowded  activities,  of  enlarging  governmental 
functions,  of  militant  socialistic  agitation  by  half -educated  theo- 


20  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

rists  and  lop-sided  sentimentalists,  was  there  need  of  men  that 
know  the  world  was  not  made  yesterday  nor  the  day  before. 

Pope  voiced  a  profound  truth  when  he  declared  that  "the 
proper  study  of  mankind  is  man;'*  and  some  wise  man,  whose 
name  I  do  not  now  recall,  uttered  the  dictum :  "There  is  nothing 
noble  in  the  world  but  man;  there  is  nothing  noble  in  man  but 
mind."  Whether  or  not  we  accept  that  as  wholly  true,  we  must 
unquestionably  recognize  that  in  it  lurks  great  truth.  What  man 
has  been,  what  man  is,  what  he  can  hope  to  be — is  there  any  other 
theme  of  such  enthralling  interest,  any  other  field  of  investigation 
that  can  so  widen  the  spiritual  horizon,  that  can  exert  so  human- 
izing an  influence?  It  embodies  the  whole  accomplishment  of 
the  race,  in  civil  society,  in  religion,  in  letters,  and  in  art. 

And  it  is  into  just  this  field  of  investigation  that  the  study  of 
the  Greek  and  Latin  literatures  and  polities  conducts  us  with 
enticing  appeal  and  supreme  authority.  It  is  no  accident,  no 
assumption  of  conceit,  no  pedant's  caprice,  that  named  the  Greek 
and  Latin  courses  the  Humanities.  That  title  is  the  expression 
of  exact  and  suggestive  verity.  In  these  courses  certainly  we 
are  studying  humanity  in  concrete  manifestation  and  in  abundant 
wealth  and  variety  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  achievement. 
While  the  life  presented  has  all  the  air  of  maturity  and  pre- 
supposes antecedent  ages  of  preparation,  yet  for  us  it  has  all  "the 
freshness  of  the  early  world."  For  us  it  presents  the  foundations 
on  which  our  civilization  is  built,  the  germ  out  of  which  our 
culture  has  developed.  Our  jurisprudence  recognizes  principles 
established  by  the  Greek  and  Roman  lawgivers;  our  municipal 
administrators  could  find  much  to  emulate  in  ancient  methods; 
our  philosophers  still  quote  the  authority  of  Socrates  and  Plato 
and  Aristotle;  our  literary  forms  were  given  to  us  by  the  poets 
and  orators  and  historians  that  made  Greece  famous;  our  art 
tests  itself  by  comparison  with  the  scanty  derelicts  of  the  studios 
of  antiquity.  How  can  one  possibly  have  appreciation  of  the 
higher  things  in  modern  life  that  has  made  no  thorough  study 
of  the  sources  from  which  these  have  sprung  or  in  which  they 
have  found  inspiration? 

And  there  is  no  way  to  study  these  sources  so  effective  as  to 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  21 

study  them  in  the  original  languages.  The  very  fact  that  the 
languages  are  so  different  from  our  own,  that  their  content  is  so 
remote  and  alien  to  present  moods,  and  that  therefore  progress 
in  their  mastery  is  slow  and  laborious,  adds  to  their  value  as 
disciplinary  material  and  deepens  the  impression  that  the  knowl- 
edge they  convey  and  the  wisdom  they  impart  make  on  the  mind 
and  the  memory.  A  man  in  after-life  may  forget  the  declensions 
and  the  conjugations,  may  lose  power  indeed  to  read  or  translate, 
but  the  effect  of  the  study  on  his  mental  development,  the  knowl- 
edge of  men  and  the  world  that  he  thereby  gained  directly  or 
indirectly,  the  uplift  of  soul,  the  widened  vision — these  have 
entered  into  and  become  a  part  of  his  being,  that  shall  never 
leave  him  more.  They  have  helped  to  give  him  an  understanding 
of  life,  a  grasp  of  principles,  a  consciousness  of  the  solidarity 
of  the  race  which  otherwise  he  would  have  failed  to  gain,  or  at 
least  to  gain  so  strongly  and  distinctly.  "Will  such  studies  make 
anachronisms  of  us?"  asks  Mr.  Lowell,  "unfit  us  for  the  duties 
and  the  business  of  today?  1  can  recall  no  writer  more  truly 
modern  than  Montaigne,  who  was  almost  more  at  home  in  Athens 
and  Rome  than  in  Paris.  Yet  he  was  a  thrifty  manager  of  his 
estate  and  a  most  competent  mayor  of  Bordeaux." 

Unless  a  student  is  dull  indeed  of  comprehension  he  will  have 
learned  by  his  contact  with  the  ancient  world,  by  his  pursuit  of 
the  Humanities,  that  the  problems  of  government  and  sociology, 
the  just  division  of  powers,  the  distribution  of  wealth,  the  rela- 
tions of  classes  to  one  another,  the  incidence  of  taxation,  and  the 
control  of  great  estates  are  not  new  problems  peculiar  to  this  age 
and  continent.  He  will  thus  be  prepared  to  deal  with  them  with 
larger  intelligence,  with  wiser  patience;  he  will  not  be  carried 
away  with  every  wind  of  doctrine  fanned  by  the  flippant  but 
ignorant  mountebank  of  yesterday,  nor  prone  to  accept  the  long- 
ago  rejected  but  freshly  discovered  panacea  of  political  or  finan- 
cial ills  proclaimed  by  insinuating  rhetorician  or  crafty  dema- 
gogue. He  will  stand,  he  must  stand  by  reason  of  the  training 
he  has  had,  of  the  wisdom  he  has  absorbed,  as  a  bulwark  of 
defense  for  the  things  that  are  sane  and  sensible  and  that  experi- 
ence has  proved  and  approved. 


22  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

So  far  I  have  discussed  the  general  effect  and  influence  on 
mind  and  character  in  fitting  a  man  for  leadership  in  the  practical 
affairs  of  life,  which  in  my  opinion  a  study  of  the  Humanities 
is  pre-eminently  suited  to  produce;  and  perhaps  I  might  properly 
arrest  my  discussion  at  this  point.  But  there  is  another  phase 
of  the  question,  no  doubt,  of  comparatively  minor  importance, 
but  still  in  my  opinion  of  great  significance,  to  which  I  cannot 
forbear  to  give  attention.  No  man  is  well  educated,  is  well  fitted 
for  leadership  among  his  fellows,  that  has  not  a  thorough  and 
easy  command  of  his  own  language.  Language  is  the  instru- 
ment of  thought,  whether  we  fully  agree  with  the  nominalists  or 
not,  the  instrument  of  expression,  of  human  relationship.  There 
can  be  no  clear  thinking,  no  adequate  expression  except  by  one 
that  has  mastery  of  the  instrument  of  thought  and  expression. 
It  is  hardly  possible  therefore,  to  my  mind,  to  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  inculcating  and  cultivating  the  knowledge  and 
power  of  our  native  tongue.  Indeed  the  greatest  heritage  we 
enjoy  is  our  English  language  with  what  it  contains.  It  is  the 
noblest  instrument  of  thought  that  the  human  mind  has  developed, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  ancient  Greek.  And  when  we 
'"^..recall  the  complexities,  one  might  almost  venture  to  say,  the  per- 
versities, of  Greek  etymology,  one  may  be  permitted  to  express 
unqualified  preference  for  our  so-called  formless  speech.  At  any 
rate  it  is  acknowledged  to  be,  for  all  practical  purposes,  far  and 
away  superior  to  any  other  modern  tongue. 

To  this  transcendent  language  of  ours  we  owe  a  profound 
respect  and  devotion  akin  to  the  feeling  of  patriotism  or  loyalty. 
It  is  our  duty  as  educated  men  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  maintain 
its  integrity  and  to  preserve  its  purity.  Students  ought  to  be 
impressed  with  the  thought  that  the  language  is  not  theirs  to 
do  with  what  they  will ;  it  is  a  great  patrimony  given  to  them  in 
trust,  to  be  transmitted  unimpaired,  though  perhaps  enriched,  to 
their  successors.  It  is  theirs  to  use,  to  enjoy,  to  glory  in;  but 
not  to  abuse,  to  mutilate,  to  degrade. 

Now,  in  my  opinion,  there  is  no  other  way  by  which  students 
can  come  to  so  thorough  a  knowledge  of  the  powers  and  possi- 
bilities of  the  English  language,  to  working  familiarity  with  its 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  23 

ample  vocabulary,  to  a  comprehension  of  slight  distinctions  of 
significance  in  its  profusion  of  synonyms,  to  a  precise  discrimi- 
nation among  its  wealth  of  epithets,  and  to  ease  of  movement 
in  marshaling  word  and  phrase  in  orderly  formation,  that  is  to 
be  compared  with  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin.  Every  hour 
with  text  and  lexicon  and  grammar,  every  exercise  in  classroom, 
becomes  a  practice,  an  experimenting,  a  successful  engagement 
in  what  Mrs.  Malaprop  thought  she  was  saying  when  she  boasted 
of  her  aptitude  for  "a  nice  derangement  of  epitaphs."  At  a 
period  of  his  development  when  a  student  has  few  thoughts  of 
his  own  to  express,  and  scant  power  to  express  even  what 
thoughts  he  has,  he  has  placed  in  his  hands  a  masterpiece  of  the 
world's  literature  couched  in  alien  idiom  and  surcharged  with 
allusions  to  customs  and  traditions  and  events  remote  from  his 
cognition  or  experience.  For  high  thought  and  strange  form 
and  antiquated  mode  he  must  find  adequate  interpretation  and 
expression  in  his  own  language.  Almost  imperceptibly  he  finds 
his  range  of  expression  amplified;  his  appreciation  of  delicate 
shades  of  thought  quickened;  his  vocabulary  expanding;  his 
sense  of  the  value  of  words,  inherited  from  the  Greek  and  the 
Latin,  deepened;  his  ability  to  think  more  clearly  and  to  give 
utterance  to  his  thought  with  propriety  and  precision  vastly  aug- 
mented. In  all  his  efforts  to  translate  the  classical  authors  he  has 
been  sounding  the  depths  and  exploring  the  heights  of  his  own 
vernacular.  He  has  been  away  for  the  time  at  any  rate  from  the 
flippancies  and  irrelevancies  and  slang  of  the  campus  and  the 
athletic  field  and  drinking  large,  draughts  from  the  well  of  Eng- 
lish undefiled.  He  may  have  thought  he  was  only  trying  to  learn 
Greek  and  Latin,  but  all  the  time  he  was  perfecting  himself  in  the 
mastery  of  English,  perfecting  himself  in  the  power  of  precise 
and  accurate  statement,  of  adequate  and  appropriate  expression. 
If  any  man  hopes  to  be  a  leader  in  the  practical  life  of  the  time 
he  must  have  the  power  to  think  straight  and  to  give  forceful 
utterance  to  his  thought. 

For  the  man  that  seeks  to  be  a  leader  in  the  practical  life  of 
the  world  the  study  of  the  Humanities,  of  Greek  and  Latin,  is 
to  be  recommended  and  urged,  therefore,  because  of  the  thorough 


24  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

understanding  and  mastery  of  English  that  it  gives;  because  of 
the  discipline  of  the  intellectual  powers  it  affords,  in  determining 
the  precise  meaning  of  an  author's  discourse;  because  of  the 
knowledge  gained  of  the  sources  of  our  own  language,  our  insti- 
tutions, and  our  culture;  because  of  the  cultivation  of  taste  that 
comes  thereby  in  all  that  is  high  and  fine  in  literature  and  art; 
because  of  the  wider  vision  it  gives  to  the  spirit  of  men,  and 
because  it  deepens  one's  sense  of  the  continuity  of  culture,  of  the 
solidarity  of  the  race,  of  our  debt  to  the  past,  and  so  of  our  obli- 
gation to  the  future.  It  makes  a  man  more  a  man,  the  more  he 
knows  of  what  men  aforetime  have  borne  and  done  and  thought. 
The  most  practical  man,  in  the  final  survey  of  human  life,  is  the 
one  that  puts  the  emphasis  on  man  and  not  on  practical;  who  is 
never  too  absorbed  in  the  cares  and  triumphs  of  life  to  ask  him- 
self soberly  now  and  then:  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?" 


IV.  THE  VALUE  OF  THE  STUDY  OF  GREEK  AND  LATIN  AS  A 
PREPARATION  FOR  THE  STUDY  OF  SCIENCE 


HARVEY  W.  WILEY 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Washington,  D.   C. 


In  this  twentieth  century,  when  the  world  is  full  of  men  of 
affairs,  when  so  much  is  accomplished  in  a  material  sense,  when 
the  intellectual  power  of  certain  men  over  their  fellow-men  is 
so  marked,  when  our  leaders  are  of  such  consequence,  it  is  a 
matter  of  interest  to  study  every  phase  of  the  training  of  young 
people,  for  they  will  be  responsible  for  the  progress  we  shall 
make  in  the  future.  All  of  us,  teachers  and  students,  workers 
in  every  line,  are  striving  to  make  our  work  tell  in  the  final 
result,  and  not  one  of  us  is  willing  that  the  precious  time  of  the 
youth  of  this  generation  should  be  spent  on  studies  that  give  no 
value  received  at  all  commensurate  with  the  time  spent  upon 
them. 

In  the  general  education,  which  all  of  us  agree  should  precede 
the  study  of  the  science,  art,  or  profession  which  is  to  be  a 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  2$ 

person's  life  work,  such  good  and  broad  foundations  should  be 
laid  that  later  in  life  no  trained  man  shall  feel  that  his  early  train- 
ing has  been  essentially  defective.  That  much,  at  least,  we  older 
men  owe  to  those  coming  after  us,  for  we.  are  supposed  to  have 
learned,  by  our  experience  as  working  members  of  this  busy 
world,  what  parts  of  our  education  have  given  us  the  best  train- 
ing for  the  things  we  may  have  accomplished. 

To  estimate  the  value  of  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin  as  a 
preparation  for  the  study  of  science,  it  is  well  to  know  what  is 
thought  on  the  subject  by  men  of  eminence  in  the  various 
branches  of  science.  If  the  matter  is  passed  upon  by  chemists 
only,  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  opinions  rendered  would 
be  very  different  from  those  to  be  drawn  from  the  opinions  of 
astronomers  exclusively. 

As  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Nine  of  the  Classical  Asso- 
ciation of  the  Middle  West  and  South,  I  sent  a  circular  letter 
to  one  hundred  prominent  scientific  men  in  the  United  States, 
teachers  and  others,  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  information 
respecting  their  attitude  toward  the  promotion  of  classical  learn- 
ing and  their  estimation  of  its  value.  This  letter  is  in  part  as 
follows : 

I  particularly  desire  to  present  the  matter  of  classical  studies  to  the 
scientific  men  of  this  country  with  a  view  to  securing  more  extended  study 
of  the  classics  as  a  basis  for  scientific  studies.  The  great  tendency  in  the 
past  few  years  has  been  to  eliminate  any  requirement  of  classical  knowl- 
edge from  courses  in  science.  I  hope  that  a  careful  study  of  these  problems 
will  lead  to  the  return,  at  least  in  part,  to  former  conditions  of  qualification. 

I  feel  deeply  that  a  man  who  proposes  to  follow  a  scientific  pursuit 
especially  should  be  well  trained  in  both  Latin  and  Greek.  I  do  not  mean 
that  he  should  become  a  specialist,  but  that  he  should  have  such  a  knowl- 
edge of  these  languages  as  will  enable  him  to  appreciate  their  beauty  and 
utility.  I  desire  to  have  your  views  on  the  following  points: 

1.  What   value   do  you   place  upon   a   fair  knowledge   of   the   classical 
languages,  especially  Latin  and  Greek,  as  a  basis  for  scientific  studies  and 
activity  ? 

2.  What   practical   utility  may   such   a   knowledge   of   the  classical  lan- 
guages be  to  a  scientific  man  in  the  active  work  of  his  profession? 

3.  What    particular    branches    of    science    would    be    most    benefited    by 
such  a  knowledge? 


26  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

4.  What  effect  upon  the  style  and  clearness  of  expression  will  such  a 
knowledge  give  to  a  scientific  writer  or  speaker? 

5.  What  practical  help  will  such  a  knowledge  be  to  the  scientific  man 
who  is  required  to  learn  some  modern  language  in  addition  to  his  own? 

6.  What   effect   will   such   a   knowledge   of   the   classics   have   upon   the 
pleasures  arising  from  knowledge  rather  than  its  application  which  may  be 
enjoyed  by  an  active,  educated  man? 

7.  At   what   age   in   a   person's   training   should   the   knowledge    of   the 
classics  above  referred  to  be  acquired  or  the  acquirement  commenced? 

8.  What   effect  would   such   a  knowledge   have   upon  the   success   of  a 
scientific  man  in  his  professional  activity? 

9.  Any  miscellaneous  or  explanatory  expressions  respecting  the  value  of 
classical  study  to  scientific  life  and  scientific  research. 

To  this  letter  thirty-five  replies  have  been  received,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  tabulated  summary,  as  regards  the  first  eight 
questions : 

Replies    received    . . . .  / 35 

Favorable  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek 14 

Unfavorable  to  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek 17 

Favorable  to  the  study  of  Latin,  but  not  of  Greek 4 

Point  i. — What  value  do  you  place  upon  a  fair  knowledge  of  the 
classical  languages,  especially  Latin  and  Greek,  as  a  basis  for  scientific 
studies  and  activity? 

No    value 3 

Very   little   value    4 

All  knowledge  is  of  some  value,  therefore  Latin  and 

Greek  must  have  some  valuei 2 

Latin  and  Greek  have  little  value  in  comparison  with 

the  time  needed  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  them 3 

Training  in  language  is  needed,  but  French  and  Ger- 
man are  better  than  Latin  and  Greek 3 

Latin  is   valuable,  but  not  Greek 4 

Helpful     2 

Great    value    1 1 

Essential    3 

Point  2. — What  practical  utility  may  such  a  knowledge  of  the  classical 
languages  be  to  a  scientific  man  in  the  active  work  of  his  profession? 

No   specific   answer    4 

No  answer  whatever   4 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  27 

Very    little    value    9 

Practical  utility  of  Latin  varies  with  the  nature  of 
the  science  followed  I 

Some  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  is  of  benefit 
in  making  English  scientific  terms  intelligible 4 

Latin  is  of  great  value  in  obtaining  a  knowledge  of 
the  proper  use  of  English,  so  necessary  to  any 
educated  man  2 

A  student  of  Latin  and  Greek  really  learns  syntax 
while  he  is  studying  Latin  and  Greek.  He  could  do 
this  equally  well  by  studying  a  modern  language 
and  better  still  by  analyzing  English  authors i 

The  value  of  Latin  and  Greek  is  the  resulting  acquaint- 
ance with  English  etymology  I 

Severe  attention  to  detail  which  the  thorough  study  of 
Latin  and  Greek  requires  is  of  value,  but  strictly 
scientific  studies  might  give  the  same  result  I 

The  nomenclature  and  terminology  of  science  are  based 
on  Latin  and  Greek,  hence  knowledge  of  them  is 
very  important  to  a  scientific  man 8 

Point  3. — What  particular  branches  of  science  would  be  most  benefited 
by  such  a  knowledge? 

No   specific  answer    7 

All    sciences    3 

Astronomy     i 

Biological    sciences    6 

Botany   3 

Chemistry 3 

Geology   3 

Humanistic  sciences   I 

Mathematics    i 

Medicine   6 

Natural  history 2 

Natural  sciences  i 

Paleontology    i 

Philology    I 

Physics    2 

Zoology   I 

No  use  in  any  science 9 

Those  sciences  in  which  an  elaborate  terminology  is 
supposed  to  be  a  mark  of  scientific  activity i 


28  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

NOTE. — Several  answers  to  Point  3  named  more  than  one  science.     Several 
left  the  question  blank. 

Point  4. — What  effect  upon  the  style  and  clearness  of  expression  will 
such  a  knowledge  give  to  a  scientific  writer  or  speaker? 

No  specific  reply   5 

No    influence    8 

Often   injurious I 

Tends  to  make  the  style  obscure  2 

Depends   on   personal   peculiarities    of   the   man;    some 

people  are  benefited,   others   injured 2 

Teaches  grammatical  precision  I 

Training   in    English   is   better   than   training   in    Latin 

or  Greek  4 

Effect    is   beneficial    4 

Knowledge  of  classical  languages  is  very  important  to 
a  scientific  man  to  teach  him  how  to  use  English 

with   clearness   and   precision 8 

Point  5. — What  practical  help  will  such  a  knowledge  be  to  the  scientific 
man  who  is  required  to  learn  some  modern  language  in  addition  to  his  own? 

No   specific   reply    4 

Effect  will  be  to  hinder  the  acquisition  of  a  modern 

language       '. 3 

Any  language  training  is   helpful  as  a  preliminary  to 

other  language  training 2 

A  knowledge  of  Latin  is  of  some  value  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  French  and  Italian,  but  this  is  no  motive  for 
the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek.  Such  a  laborious 
and  indirect  approach  to  modern  languages  is  waste- 
ful in  the  extreme 6 

A  help  in  learning  any  Romance  language 15 

No   help   in   learning   German,   the  most   important    of 

modern  languages  to  a  scientific  man 3 

English  is  the  best  language  to  study  as  the  basis  for 

another  modern  language    2 

Point  6. — What  effect  will  such  a  knowledge  of  the  classics  have  upon 
the  pleasures  arising  from  knowledge  rather  than  its  application  which  may 
be  enjoyed  by  an  active,  educated  man? 

No  specific  reply   10 

All  knowledge  gives  pleasure;  there  is  no  special  pleasure 

to  be  obtained  from  Latin  and  Greek  classics 5 

Much  more  pleasure  is  found  in  the  great  works  in 
modern  languages  than  in  the  classics  in  Greek  and 
Latin  5 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  29 

A  source  of  great  pleasure 9 

A  source  of  pleasure,  provided  the  study  of  Latin  and 

Greek  be  carried  far  enough  4 

A  knowledge  of  the  classics  in  Latin  and  Greek  is 

essential  to  a  broad   education 2 

Point  7. — At  what  age  in  a  person's  training  should  the  knowledge  of 
the  classics  above  referred  to  be  acquired  or  the  acquirement  commenced? 

No  specific  reply  8 

Should  not  be  acquired  at  all  I 

After  French  and  German  have  been  acquired 2 

If  studied  at  all,  begin  as  young  as  possible 4 

Between  8  and  10  2 

Between  1 1  and  20  3 

About  the  age  of  12 6 

In   the   secondary   schools 6 

In    college    2 

Before  professional  studies  are  begun I 

Point  8. — What  effect  would  such  a  knowledge  have  upon  the  success  of 
a  scientific  man  in  his  professional  activity? 

No    specific    reply 9 

No  effect 6 

Little    effect    9 

Culture  value  only   I 

Many  of  the  best  schools  have  given  a  very  large  part 
of  their  time  to  Latin  and  Greek.  Of  course  the 
graduates  of  these  schools  are  better  trained  than 

those  of  poor  schools  with  better  programmes I 

Advantageous  effect  on  a  man's  reading,  writing,  and 

speaking      2 

Effect  of  drill  in  careful  use  of  language I 

Other  things  being  equal,  the  botanist  with  a  good  classi- 
cal education  is  more  likely  to  succeed,  because  he  is 
less  dependent  upon  others  for  certain  essentials  in 
his  science,  such  as  etymologies  of  words,  transla- 
tion of  Latin  descriptions,  and  writing  Latin  descrip- 
tions    I 

A  man  becomes  a  better  popularizer  of  science I 

Classical  knowledge  is  of  much  value  for  the  success 
of  a  scientific  man  4 

I  select  some  typical  replies  to  Question  9,  giving  them  in 
full,  since  in  many  cases  the  attitude  of  the  writer  to  the  whole 


30  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

subject  under  discussion  is  most  clearly  shown  in  his  reply  to  that 
question : 

J.  M.  BALDWIN,  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 

I  think  the  attempt  to  continue  so-called  "classical"  study  in  its  tradi- 
tional artificial  position  is  quite  useless  and  unwise.  Let  it  take  a  place 
it  can  hold — one  in  common  with  other  literary  and  linguistic  groups  of 
studies.  To  give  it  great  importance  in  connection  with  science  is  a 
conceit,  me  judice,  of  its  foster-parents. 

R.  P.  BIGELOW,  MASSACHUSETTS  INSTITUTE  OF  TECHNOLOGY 

To  summarize  my  opinions  in  the  matter  of  scientific  education,  it 
seems  to  me  that  the  essentials  are  of  two  classes:  First,  a  thorough 
training  in  the  use  of  the  tools  required  by  a  scientific  man,  namely,  the 
modern  languages  and  mathematics;  second,  a  training  in  the  scientific 
method,  especially  as  applied  to  the  branch  of  science  in  which  he  desires 
to  specialize.  If  to  the  curriculum,  the  study  of  the  classics  can  be  added 
without  interfering  with  these  essentials,  then  it  seems  to  me  that  in  some 
cases  it  would  be  desirable  as  a  means  of  culture  and  enjoyment. 
M.  T.  BOGERT,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

No  reason  for  a  scientific  man  to  go  beyond  Caesar  and  Xenophon. 
Much  more  important  for  a  chemist  to  be  familiar  with  German  than 
Latin,  and  Italian,  French,  or  Danish  than  Greek.  In  fact,  I  would  place 
the  languages  in  about  the  following  order  for  an  organic  chemist:  German, 
English,  French,  Italian,  Danish,  Swedish,  Latin,  Greek,  Russian. 
G.  C.  COMSTOCK,  WASHBURN  OBSERVATORY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN 

The  value  of  the  classical  languages  and  their  study  appears  mainly  to 
result  from  the  drill  and  mental  exercise  upon  a  host  of  constantly  recur- 
ring small  problems  and  the  applications  of  flexible  rules  which  the  diligent 
student  cannot  escape,  and  which  are  especially  adapted  to  the  discipline 
of  immature  minds.  The  initial  stages  of  such  study  appear  to  me  of  much 
more  value  for  general  training  than  anything  which  can  come  after  the 
first  three  or  four  years  of  such  work. 

J.  U.  NEF,  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

I  think  everyone  realizes  as  he  grows  older  that  he  has  his  limitations. 
I,  for  one,  regret  very  keenly  that  I  took  a  great  deal  of  Latin  and  Greek 
and  did  not  spend  far  more  time  on  advanced  mathematics  and  physics. 
I  am,  however,  not  now  wasting  any  time  in  vain  or  useless  regrets  on  this 
account,  but  simply  doing  the  best  I  can  with  the  knowledge  that  I  have 
acquired. 

ORMOND   STONE,   LEANDER   McCoRMicK    OBSERVATORY,   UNIVERSITY   OF 

VIRGINIA 

The  tendency  to  eliminate  classics  as  required  subjects  from  courses 
in  science  is  pedagogically  correct.  Life  is  too  short  for  everything. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  31 

Modern   languages    (at   least   German    and    French)    are    essential    to   the 
English-speaking  man  of  science. 

W.  F.  OSGOOD,  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

I  value  linguistic  training,  and  I  believe  that  for  the  English-speaking 
person  German  offers  all  the  advantages  of  Latin — not  German  crowded 
into  a  corner  with  Latin  five  hours  a  week  for  four  school  years,  but 
German  taught  by  the  ear  and  by  the  eye,  with  thorough  schooling  in 
grammar  and  reinforced  a  year  or  two  after  the  start  by  French,  similarly 
taught,  both  languages  strengthening  each  other  through  their  comparative 
study.  From  such  a  study  come  the  advantages,  first,  of  the  discipline,  of 
the  exact  knowledge  and  the  intelligent  performance  of  a  task  well  under- 
stood; second,  of  the  broadening  influence  of  wider  human  contact  through 
really  seeing  something  of  the  thought  of  other  peoples;  and,  third, 
of  having  in  our  possession  a  useful  tool  for  our  science. 

C.  R.  BARNES,  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

While   I    should    advise   every  young   man   who    is    going   to   make   a 
special  study  of  some  branch  of  science  to  study  both  Latin  and  Greek, 
I  should  greatly  deplore  requiring  either.     I  do  not  think  it  possible  to  run 
every  scientific  intellect  into  the  same  preparatory  mold. 
FLORIAN  CAJORI,  COLORADO  COLLEGE 

Modern  languages  are  indispensable.  I  have  seen  scientific  men  who 
could  read  their  Virgil,  but  to  whom  a  German  book  was  a  sealed  book. 
Their  scientific  work  was  seriously  hampered. 

C.  W.  DABNEY,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CINCINNATI 

I  do  not  know  how  a  man  can  understand  the  terminology  of  science, 
much  less  keep  up  with  its  literature,  unless  he  has  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  classical  languages.  The  scientific  man  must  be  able  at  a  glance  to 
know  the  meaning  of  all  the  terms  used  in  science  and  I  do  not  see  how 
he  can  do  this  unless  he  has  a  moderate  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek.  He 
needs  French  and  German  to  keep  up  with  their  literature  and  those 
languages  are,  in  part,  based  on  the  classical  languages. 
E.  S.  DANA,  YALE  UNIVERSITY 

I  ma^say  in  general  that  my  experience  has  shown  that  a  knowledge 
of  La^nlnd  Greek  is  of  great  benefit  to  the  scientific  man,  particularly  in 
natural  history,  since  without  this  he  is  ignorant  in  regard  to  the  meanings 
of  a  considerable  part  of  the  scientific  vocabulary,  and  if  his  work  requires 
him  to  invent  new  specific  names  he  has  not  the  basis  of  knowledge  to 
allow  him  doing  this  intelligently.  Furthermore,  the  drill  in  Latin  and 
Greek  translations  seems  to  me  one  of  the  best  ways  of  studying  the 
English  language  and  thus  training  the  individual  in  a  clear  style. 
J.  W.  MALLET,  UNIVERSITY  OF  VIRGINIA 

But  in  a  broader  way  such  a  one  may  well  desire  to  have  his  share  with 
his  fellow-men  in  the  mental  strength  and  enjoyment  which  a  moderate 


32  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

acquaintance  with  these  tongues  opens  up  in  history,  in  literature,  in  art, 
and  generally  in  a  knowledge  of  the  mental  life  of  the  chief  races  of  men 
who  have  before  us  inhabited  the  earth.  In  the  selection  of  subjects  with 
which  to  fill  the  time  and  thoughts  of  the  young  during  the  part  of  life 
which  can  be  given  to  formal  training  there  must  of  necessity  be  close 
instruction  within  practically  attainable  limits,  and  the  teacher  must  con- 
stantly keep  before  him  the  problem  of  what  best  may  be  left  out,  but  in 
the  so-called  conflict  between  classical  and  scientific  studies  it  may,  I 
think,  be  truly  said,  "This  should  ye  have  done,  and  not  have  left  the  other 
undone." 

B.  OSGOOD  PEIRCE,  HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 

I  do  not  regret  the  years  that  I  spent  in  school  and  college  (not  very 
willingly  at  the  time)  upon  Latin  and  Greek. 

EDWARD  RENOUF,  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 

Every  scientific  man  knows  what  a  dismal  farce  the  result  of  classical 
instruction  in  the  American  preparatory  school  is,  and  I  do  not  think  it 
possible  for  classical  instruction  to  scientific  students  to  be  prolonged 
beyond  the  second  college  year.  The  result  obtained  at  that  period,  with 
the  material  the  teachers  have  to  handle,  is  still  pitiable,  and,  to  my  mind, 
of  little  value,  especially  if  it  has  lessened  (as  is  usually  the  case)  the  time 
allotted  to  modern  language.  I  cannot  but  feel  that  it  is  "up  to"  the 
teachers  of  classics.  Scientific  teachers  starting  with  a  freshman — about 
equivalent  to  entrance  into  Ober-Secunda  of  the  Gymnasium — turn  out  an 
average  undergraduate  product  which  compares  favorably  with  that  turned 
out  in  German  universities  in  the  same  working  time  from  Real-Gymnasium 
graduates. 

Why  cannot  the  preparatory  school  teaching  Latin  to  boys  from  12 
to  18  equal,  or  at  least  approach,  the  product  produced  between  12  and  17 
by  the  classical  Gymnasia?  When  they  do,  the  questions  on  this  sheet 
will  not  be  needed — the  man  with  classical  training  will  be  the  only  man 
who  will  be  practically  received  as  university  or  college  teacher  in  science, 
as  it  is  practically  in  Germany  today. 

C.  O.  WHITMAN,  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 

I  have  long  held  that  a  good  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  is  quite 
essential  to  the  modern  man  of  science.  In  my  own  department,  the  ablest 
men  are  without  an  exception  men  who  have  had  a  thorough  classical 
training.  Those  who  have  failed  of  this  show  it  in  inability  to  express 
themselves  accurately  and  concisely.  They  do  not  have  a  fine  appreciation 
of  the  primary  meanings  of  words 

The  scientific  man  must  not  only  know  how  to  use  English,  but  also 
how  to  form  new  words  for  new  purposes.  Besides,  his  terminology  is 
made  up  almost  wholly  of  Latin  and  Greek  derivatives.  Over  half  of 
our  whole  vocabulary  is  founded  on  Latin.  A  knowledge  of  Latin  aids 
immensely  also  in  the  learning  of  French,  Italian,  Spanish,  etc. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  33 

The  replies  to  the  circular  letter  have  been  difficult  to  classify, 
considering  each  one  as  a  whole.  Examination  of  a  letter  often 
showed  that  different  parts  of  it  should  be  classified  under  differ- 
ent heads.  I  have  endeavored,  however,  to  separate  them  into 
two  classes.  First,  those  which  upon  the  whole  favor  classical 
instruction;  and  second,  those  which  upon  the  whole  oppose 
classical  instruction ;  but  even  with  this  clear-cut  line  of  demarca- 
tion it  has  been  found  impossible  to  make  a  just  distribution  in 
all  cases.  Some  of  those  which  are  found  in  class  i  will  contain 
sections  which  should  be  placed  in  class  2,  or  vice  versa. 

The  most  prominent  deduction  from  a  study  of  the  replies 
is  the  existence  of  two  schools  of  thought  based  upon  different 
premises  or  points  of  view.  In  the  one  instance  there  is  quite  a 
respectable  element  among  scientific  workers  and  teachers  favor- 
ing decidedly,  or  in  a  limited  manner,  the  requirement  of  classical 
instruction  for  the  college  degrees.  This  school  believes,  as  will 
be  seen  in  the  detailed  analyses  given,  that  classical  studies  upon 
the  whole  are  advantageous  to  those  engaged  in  scientific  work 
and  also  contribute  to  the  enjoyment  of  scientific  life.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  may  class  those  who  are  of  the  very  positive 
opinion  that  all  the  time  spent  in  learning  dead  languages, 
especially  Latin  and  Greek,  is  wasted,  and  that  the  knowledge 
which  the  ordinary  student  obtains  of  these  languages  is  not  a 
working  knowledge,  nor  is  it  of  sufficient  extent  to  warrant  the 
belief  that  it  adds  anything  to  the  pleasure  or  to  the  efficiency 
of  those  engaged  in  scientific  pursuits.  That  such  a  difference  of 
view  would  be  secured  was  clearly  foreseen.  The  surprise  that 
has  come  to  me  in  studying  the  replies  I  have  received  was  pro- 
duced rather  by  the  large  amount  of  testimony  in  favor  of  the 
classics  than  by  that  which  is  opposed  to  them.  In  general  I 
think  it  may  be  conceded  that  in  so  far  as  actual  utility  is  con- 
cerned in  scientific  research  itself,  a  knowledge  of  the  classical 
languages  is  not  of  any  very  great  importance.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  so  far  as  nomenclature  of  science  is  concerned,  especially 
biological  science,  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  is  almost 
indispensable.  Moreover,  it  seems  to  me  there  is  a  decided 
opinion  to  the  effect  that  a  knowledge  of  the  classics  is  more  or 


34  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

less  indispensable  to  one  who  claims  to  be  a  man  of  culture  and 
education  in  the  broadest  acceptation  of  those  terms. 

In  regard  to  the  period  at  which  classical  studies  should  begin, 
the  preponderating  testimony  is  in  favor  of  an  early  commence- 
ment. In  other  words,  it  is  the  opinion  of  most  of  those  who 
have  expressed  any  conviction  at  all  upon  the  subject  that  a  good 
knowledge  of  classical  studies  should  be  acquired  during,  or 
even  before,  the  schooling  which  is  designed  to  fit  the  young  man 
to  enter  the  freshman  class  of  a  good  college  or  university. 
There  is  a  very  decided  preponderance  of  opinion  to  the  effect 
that  the  time  of  the  more  mature  studies,  that  is  of  the  last  three 
years  of  the  college  course  and  practically  the  whole  of  the 
technical  courses  in  scientific  studies,  should  be  free  from  any 
special  devotion  to  classical  researches. 

I  may  cite  as  a  typical  advocate  of  classical  learning  the  letter 
received  from  Professor  Bessey  of  the  University  of  Nebraska. 
He  states  in  part : 

In  the  management  of  the  department  of  botany  in  the  University  of 
Nebraska,  I  require  a  knowledge  of  Latin  at  least,  by  those  who  take  up 
the  serious  study  of  botany,  and  I  urge  such  persons  to  have  some  knowl- 
edge of  Greek  also.  The  botanist  must  know  something  of  Latin  and  he 
should  know  something  of  Greek  also.  One  young  man  who  came  to  me  a 
number  of  years  ago  with  a  preparation  in  modern  languages  only,  soon 
became  so  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  a  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek 
that  after  entering  the  University  he  went  back  to  the  beginning  of  Latin 
and  brought  up  his  knowledge  of  this  language  so  that  he  became  a  critical 
Latin  scholar.  He  did  the  same  with  Greek,  and  always  defended  his 
action  on  the  ground  of  its  being  necessary  for  him  in  his  botanical  work. 
He  is  now  one  of  the  eminent  botanists  of  the  country. 

As  a  typical  illustration  of  the  attitude  of  those  opposed  to 
classical  learning  I  may  give  the  letter  received  from  Professor 
Carl  Barus  of  Brown  University : 

It  seems  to  me  little  short  of  ludicrous  that  anybody  at  the  present 
age  of  progress  should  make  an  endeavor  to  reintroduce  classical  philology, 
particularly  at  a  time  when  at  such  venerable  seats  of  learning  as  Oxford 
and  Cambridge  determined  efforts  have  been  made  to  get  rid  of  this 
incubus.  How  is  it  possible  for  anybody  to  fail  to  realize  that  the  trend 
of  science  is  ever  toward  mathematics,  that  in  the  next  generation  the 
demand  for  a  mathematical  equipment  and  the  need  of  it  will  be  increased 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  35 

tenfold?  How  is  it  possible  to  ignore  the  fact  that  this  is  the  direction  in 
which  specialization  should  be  made,  beginning  at  an  early  age,  for  the 
burden  is  continually  heavier,  and  that  this  is  precisely  the  direction  in 
which  nothing  is  being  done.  As  for  philological  work,  let  us  have 
English,  French,  German,  Italian,  etc.,  which  not  only  have  the  same 
cultural  value,  but  open  to  their  possessors  a  world  of  life  and  learning 
and  science.  I  can't  answer  your  questions  for  they  put  me  in  a  temper. 

These  two  letters  plainly  join  the  battle  between  the  opposing 
forces  and  in  neither  of  them  is  there  any  uncertain  sound. 

Professor  McKee,  of  Lake  Forest  College,  sent  a  most  inter- 
esting letter.  He  states  that  he  is  distinctly  convinced  from 
experiments  he  has  made  that  classical  studies  are  a  positive 
disadvantage  to  scientific  students.  He  finds  that  students  who 
have  come  with  a  knowledge  of  Latin  rather  than  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  German  do  not  rank  as  high  as  those  who  have  studied 
German.  This  is  not  a  mere  opinion  but  is  based  upon  actual 
data  of  the  examinations  of  college  students. 

Professor  Branner,  of  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University,  does 
not  agree  with  Professor  McKee.  He  says : 

/  I  believe  that  a  systematic  examination  of  the  records  would  show 
that  the  men  who  have  the  most  enduring  reputations  in  the  science  I  know 
most  about  are  men  who  have  more  or  less  training  in  the  classics. 

This  may  well  be  true,  since  the  men  who  have  enduring  repu- 
tations are  older  men,  and  the  older  men  were  educated  at  a  time 
when  classical  training  was  required  and  not  made  optional,  as 
it  is  at  the  present  time.  Even,  however,  should  the  records  of 
scientific  men  show  in  the  future  that  those  who  have  acquired  dis- 
tinction in  sciences  are  those  who  have  had  no  classical  training, 
it  would  not  be  a  proof  of  the  lack  of  value  of  classical  culture. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  taste  for  scientific  studies  often  develops 
early  in  life  to  such  an  extent  as  to  exclude  all  desire  for  the 
study  of  any  languages,  except  those  necessary  to  scientific  read- 
ing and  research.  Hence  it  would  happen  that  men  with  a 
natural  bent  for  scientific  studies  would  naturally  omit  the 
study  of  classical  languages  when  such  a  study  was  not  required 
for  college  graduation.  Upon  the  whole,  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  class  of  data  submitted  by  Professor  McKee  is  likely  to 
be  the  most  reliable.  Unfortunately  for  my  own  personal 


36  THE  SCHOOL  REVIEW 

views  in  the  matter,  the  results  of  his  observations  seem  to 
be  distinctly  unfavorable  to  the  classical  scholar.  I  should  not, 
however,  like  to  rest  content  with  this  one  instance,  but  should 
like  to  see  it  supplemented  by  others.  If  we  think  for  a  moment 
of  the  vast  number  of  distinguished  men  who  have  already  made 
their  mark  in  science,  and  recall  the  fact  that  practically  all  of 
them  were  well  trained  in  the  classics,  we  would  hardly  be  able 
to  condemn  classical  studies  on  the  ground  that  they  are  positively 
injurious,  as  is  claimed  by  many  of  those  who  have  responded 
to  my  inquiries. 

My  own  opinion,  partly  formed,  I  must  say,  before  receiving 
the  replies  to  my  circular  letter,  though  somewhat  accentuated  by 
reason  of  these  replies,  is  that  it  would  be  a  very  serious  mistake 
to  omit  from  the  higher  learning  of  the  United  States  instruction 
in  classical  studies.  I  believe,  on  the  other  hand,  that  more 
attention  should  be  paid  to  these  studies,  as  was  the  case  forty 
years  ago,  when  it  was  deemed  not  possible  to  have  a  liberal 
culture  without  a  knowledge  of  Latin.  I  believe  that  most  of 
the  objections  to  classical  studies  made  by  those  who  have 
responded  to  my  inquiries  would  be  removed  if  these  studies 
were  begun  at  an  earlier  age  I  am  led  to « believe  after  many 
years  of  careful  consideration  of  the  subject,  and  as  a  result  of 
four  years  of  teaching  the  classics  to  young  college  students,  and 
as  the  result  of  six  years  of  instruction  in  the  classics  received 
from  very  competent  teachers,  that  the  failure  to  reach  the  full 
value  of  classical  instruction  lies  essentially  in  the  fact  that  this 
instruction  is  attempted  at  the  wrong  time  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  in  the  wrong  manner.  The  general  practice  in  this 
country  is  to  defer  classical  studies  until  the  time  a  young  man 
begins  to  prepare  for  college.  While  there  are  many  notable 
exceptions  to  this,  exceptions  that  are,  by  the  way,  the  strongest 
evidence  of  the  pertinence  of  these  remarks,  I  think  it  may  be 
demonstrated  that  four  years  of  classical  study,  beginning  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  as  a  rule,  would  produce  no  more  mastery  of  these 
studies  than  would  two  or  thiee  years  of  study  if  commenced  at 
the  age  of  ten  or  twelve.  Youth  is  the  natural  period  for  learn- 
ing a  language.  In  extreme  youth  the  brain  may  be  regarded  as 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  37 

almost  unwritten  upon  and  the  sensations  which  it  registers  most 
indelibly  are  those  which  pertain  to  language.  If  the  brain  may 
be  regarded  as  a  palimpsest,  I  think  we  will  all  agree  that  the 
first  inscriptions  upon  it  should  be  those  of  language.  Mathe- 
matics and  science  and  philosophy  can  be  written  over  words 
with  good  effect,  but  if  you  try  to  write  a  language  over  the 
other  inscriptions  you  will  have  but  little  success. 


V.    THE   CLASSICS   AND   MODERN   LIFE 


THE  HON.  JAMES  BROWN  SCOTT 
Solicitor  for  the  Department  of  State,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Ever  since  the  Renaissance  there  have  not  been  lacking  able 
exponents  of  the  view  that  the  modern  is  superior  to  the  ancient 
world;  that  the  literature  since  the  great  revival  of  learning  is 
superior  to  the  literature  of  classical  times,  and  that  the  duty  of 
the  modern  world  is  to  develop  itself  along  modern  lines  without 
any  great  regard  to  the  past.  The  supremacy  of  the  modern 
world  was  ably  proclaimed  by  Perrault  in  the  reign  of  Louis 
XIV.  The  literature  of  this  period,  however  original  it  may  be, 
was  based  upon  classic  models;  and  the  Battle  of  the  Books,  to 
quote  the  expression  which  Swift  has  made  famous,  has  raged 
in  England  as  well.  That  the  question  is  still  debated  and  con- 
sidered debatable  can  only  mean  that  the  contest  is  undecided, 
and  that  the  arguments  advanced  have  been  neither  convincing 
nor  exhausted. 

Without  attempting  to  enter  upon  this  controversy,  it  is  per- 
haps not  improper  for  a  layman  to  observe  that  even  if  the  su- 
premacy of  the  modern  world  in  literature,  in  art,  and  in  philoso- 
phy be  admitted,  the  supremacy  is  the  result  of  the  achievement  of 
the  ancient  world  in  literature,  art,  and  philosophy,  and  that  the 
modern  world  has  reached  its  present  degree  of  civilization  and 
culture  by  a  return  to  the  traditions  of  the  ancient  world,  inter- 
rupted by  the  ignorance  and  indifference  of  what  we  are  pleased 
to  term  the  Dark  Ages;  that  the  present  is  a  development  out 


38  THE   SCHOOL  REVIEW 

of  the  past,  which  cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of 
the  past,  and  that  the  civilization  and  culture  of  the  present  are 
therefore  a  growth  rooted  in  Greece  and  Rome,  not  a  condition 
developed  by  the  immediate  past  or  created  by  the  conditions  of 
the  present  day. 

The  question,  however,  is  not  one  of  supremacy  either  of 
the  past  or  the  present,  but  of  the  value  to  the  present  of  the  art, 
literature,  and  philosophy,  the  institutions  and  civilization  of  the 
ancient  world.  Indeed  the  question  is  still  narrower,  for  an 
expression  of  opinion  is  not  desired  as  to  the  theoretical  impor- 
tance of  this  knowledge,  but  as  to  the  practical  importance  of  the 
humanities  to  one  actively  engaged  in  the  world's  work.  While 
it  may  be  admitted  that  a  public  servant  may  perform  the  duties 
incumbent  upon  him  without  a  knowledge  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  with  no  very  great  familiarity  with  the  institutions  and  prob- 
lems of  the  ancient  world,  it  is  almost  self-evident  that  the  use- 
fulness of  a  legislator,  as  distinguished  from  an  administrator, 
would  be  enhanced  by  an  adequate  conception  of  the  institutions 
of  Greece  and  Rome  as  well  as  of  the  masterpieces  of  their 
political  philosophy.  '  Men  change,  governments  rise  and  fall, 
nations  pass  out  of  existence,  but  the  political  relation  of  man  to 
man,  the  problems  of  government,  whereby  individual  liberty 
may  be  reconciled  with  the  requirements  of  society,  remain,  and 
must  be  considered  by  each  generation.  The  experience*  of  the 
past,  however  remote,  or  of  states,  however  small,  cannot  safely 
be  overlooked  by  one  who  regards  government  and  governmental 
theories  as  a  development.  Constitutions  grow,  they  are  not 
made;  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  not  created 
in  the  constitutional  convention  in  1787,  but  was  the  result  of 
centuries  of  conflict  and  growth. 

Again,  it  cannot  be  maintained  for  a  moment  that  the  artistic 
conceptions  of  Greece,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  of  Rome,  are  of 
no  advantage  to  the  painter,  the  sculptor,  the  architect,  and  the 
critic.  The  mere  statement  amounts  to  a  demonstration  and  we 
need  only  look  about  us  to  see  the  persistent,  molding  influ- 
ence of  Greece  and  Rome  in  all  these  departments  of  activity. 


CLASSICAL  STUDIES  FOR  MEN  OF  AFFAIRS  39 

It  may  well  be  granted  that  the  literature  of  the  present  day 
differs  widely  from  the  literature  of  the  ancient  world ;  that  the 
conditions  of  the  modern  world  demand  a  different  treatment, 
and  that  various  forms  of  literature  have  sprung  into  existence 
to  meet  the  changed  conditions.  The  standard  of  taste,  how- 
ever, has  changed  but  little;  the  principles  of  composition  are 
substantially  the  same;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  assert  that  a 
masterpiece  of  modern  literature  would  have  commended  itself 
to  the  critics  of  Greece  and  Rome  just  as  the  masterpieces  of 
Greece  and  Rome  not  only  commend  themselves  to  the  modern 
world  but  are  models  of  thought  and  composition.  It  is  not 
suggested  that  the  litterateur  of  the  present  day  must  proceed 
along  classical  lines,  and  be  minutely  acquainted  with  the  litera- 
ture of  antiquity,  but  it  would  seem  to  be  beyond  controversy 
that  the  average  writer  of  the  present  day  would  have  his  thought 
refined,  his  taste  purified,  and  his  style  chastened,  by  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  models  and  canons  of  the  literary  composition 
of  Greece,  and  its  imitator  Rome.  Genius  is  a  law  unto  itself, 
and  finds  expression  in  any  time  and  in  any  language;  but  the 
man  of  talent  is  strengthened  by  a  knowledge  of  the  past. 

In  the  realm  of  philosophy  the  same  is  true.  We  cannot 
eliminate  Greece,  and  in  a  much  lesser  degree  Rome,  if  we  would 
construct  a  system  universally  applicable.  We  cannot  create  a 
system  without  reference  to  the  systems  of  the  past  which  it  has 
taken  the  past  itself  centuries  to  develop.  These  contentions  may 
be  readily  admitted  and  yet  it  may  be  insisted  that  they  apply 
to  but  limited  classes;  that  they  concern  specialists  in  these  vari- 
ous lines,  and  do  not  affect  the  overwhelming  mass  of  our  people 
engaged  in  the  practical  questions  of  the  present  day.  However 
strong  this  objection  may  be,  it  is  susceptible  of  an  answer  which 
amounts  to  refutation ;  for  the  study  of  these  subjects,  or  of  any 
of  them,  gives  training  and  balance  to  the  mind  and  we  must  per- 
force admit  that  the  trained  mind  is  essential  to  the  proper  con- 
duct of  affairs  whether  we  be  called  upon  to  discuss  problems 
of  state,  questions  of  literature,  or  canons  of  art  and  philosophy. 

It  is  not  asserted  that  training  and  balance  may  not  be  acquired 
by  the  study  of  the  natural  and  physical  sciences,  or  that  an 


40  THE   SCHOOL  REVIEW 

acquisition  of  modern  languages  will  not  supply  linguistic  train- 
X  ing.  It  is  maintained,  however,  that  the  study  of  classical  litera- 
ture, art,  and  philosophy  supplies  a  training  based  upon  models 
which  have  stood  the  test  of  time  and  which  may  therefore  be 
considered  universal;  that  the  training  derived  from  their  study 
is  therefore  correct  training,  and  that  we  cannot,  even  if  we 
would,  omit  these  subjects  in  any  curriculum  which  aims  to  fit 
a  man  for  the  problems  with  which  he  will  be  confronted  in  his 
daily  life.  It  is  not  necessary  to  maintain  the  superiority  of  these 
studies;  it  is  necessary,  however,  to  assert  their  right  to  equality 
of  treatment  and  that  they  be  not  discriminated  against  in  our 
colleges  and  universities. 

May  I  in  conclusion  illustrate  and  enforce  the  necessity  at 
least  of  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  Latin  by  calling  to  your 
attention  the  subject  of  international  law,  in  which  Department  I 
may  perhaps  speak  as  a  specialist? 

The  student  may,  indeed,  obtain  a  knowledge  of  international 
law  as  it  exists  at  the  present  day  from  a  careful  reading  of  texts 
in  English,  supplemented  by  French  and  German  treatises,  but 
if  he  would  trace  international  law  to  its  beginnings  and  esti- 
mate rightly  the  force  of  public  opinion,  which  not  only  controls 
our  national  policies  but  is  shaping  the  international  policies  of 
the  world,  he  must  master  the  sources  of  international  law;  he 
must  familiarize  himself  with  the  leading  writers  of  international 
law  who  have  in  the  past  three  centuries  laid  broad  and  deep  the 
foundations  of  a  stately  structure,  and  he  cannot  do  this  without 
a  thorough  and  practical  knowledge  of  Latin.  For  not  only  did 
Grotius  himself  appeal  to  the  public  opinion  in  that  language, 
with  which  public  opinion  was  familiar,  I  mean  Latin,  but  his 
predecessors  and  those  who  carried  on  the  Grotian  tradition  and 
perfected  the  science  of  international  law  composed  their  treatises 
in  Latin.  The  history  of  international  law  is  a  sealed  book  to 
one  who  is  not  a  Latinist,  and  the  ignorance  of  Latin  argues  at 
best  but  an  acquaintance  with  secondary  sources. 


Of  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

of 


THE   UNIVERSITY    BULLETIN  is  ISSUED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF    MICHIGAN  AS 

OFTEN    AS  ONCE  A  MONTH  DURING  THE  UNIVERSITY  YEAR 


ENTERED  AS  SECOND-CLASS    MATTER  AT  THE  POST-OFFICE  AT  ANN    ARBOR, 

MICHIGAN 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 


Kenewea  DOCKS  are  suoject  to  immediate  recall. 

24Aor'59BB 

RECEIVED  BY 

- 

°^K  i98n 

APR  22  1969 

ClitCUlATION  DEPT. 

*   ••••  fffnuir 

o  JUL  ™MC 

5    -      . 

MAR  19  1971 


LD  21A-50m-9,'58 
(6889slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

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